


Repercussions

by fezwearingjellybananas



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi, just so it doesn't clutter anything up, might be better to tag as ensemble rather than add characters on second thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 22:49:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 23,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20071903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fezwearingjellybananas/pseuds/fezwearingjellybananas
Summary: There are consequences of time travel. Eobard remembered The Flash’s lectures well. But he was smart, even smarter than the hero, he could manipulate whatever he wanted.Except he changed one too many things and these are a lot of consequences heading his way.[A series of snippets, each to fill a prompt for Writer’s Month 2019, glimpses of an alternative timeline where Vibe is the hero of Central City (who may or may not have a thing for his nemesis’ brother), the Flash is said brother, and the Black Canary is ushering in a new generation of superheroes]





	1. Day 10: Setting Prompt- Dark AU

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was a role reversal and then it was just notes of a larger AU but then I wasn't sure what to actually write, so writing bits and pieces to fit the prompts for [Writer's Month 2019](https://writersmonth.tumblr.com/post/186145461824/prompt-list) seemed like a way to jot the ideas down at least. Currently it's not chronological but I think I might reoorder it once all the prompts are filled? And I'll add tags as I go and work out which ones are releavant because a lot of characters are going to stick their heads in
> 
> *Edit 1/11/19 chapters should now be chronological

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is the immediate aftermath of some canonical character death if anyone needs a heads up for that

Eobard should not be returning to the scene of his crime. But he needed to get home, and surely Barry would also return. Return to try and save his parents as well as himself. Perhaps he should have made his mother the priority. Her blood was still wet on Eobard’s hands.

There was already a gathering outside. Eobard recognised Henry Allen.

Barry’s father was in handcuffs.

Eobard made sure he couldn’t be seen. This he couldn’t miss.

“Dad!” the young Barry was shouting. “Dad!”

“Stay there, Mal,” Henry said. An interesting nickname. Eobard had expected something closer to Bartholomew.

“Dad! Let him go!”

“Just stay there, Mal.”

Future Commissioner Joseph West- father of Iris West-Allen and Wally West- stepped out the house with his hand on a very pale young Barry Allen’s shoulder. Barry looked like he was about to pass out.

The other Barry ran to him. This wasn’t right.

“Let Dad go.”

“You need to come with me, Mal,” West said. “I need you to help look after Barry.”

This wasn’t right. Barry Allen had never had a twin.

Eobard darted away and pulled out Gideon.

“Good evening, Professor Thawne.”

“I need any information you have on Barry Allen’s brother.”

“Entry, Cobalt Blue, filed by Wallace West, 14th September, 2026.”

“Cobalt Blue’s real name was Malcolm Thawne,” Eobard said. “I know my family tree. I asked for information on Barry Allen’s.”

“Correct,” Gideon said. “Wally West discovered Malcolm Allen had been switched with the stillborn Thawne child at birth, leading to him being raised as Malcolm Thawne and later becoming Cobalt Blue. While his targeting of the Flash was driven by his feelings towards Barry Allen over this incident, Barry was unaware of their connection and Wally West did not discover Thawne’s true identity until after Barry’s death.”

And yet Malcolm Thawne had been at that house. He was currently on his way to a police station with Barry Allen. If he remained an Allen, Eobard would never be born. This was likely one reason he’d been unable to leave this time.

Henry Allen had been arrested. It was unlikely anyone would discover Eobard’s involvement. That meant Malcolm would need somewhere to live.

Eobard smirked. He knew exactly how to fix this, and Barry was going to hate it.


	2. Day 28: Word Prompt- Family

Her rescuer looked kryptonian. But Kara had already noted the humans on this planet looked kryptonian; it was one of the reasons Uncle Jor-El and Aunt Lara had picked it to send Kal-El. Why her mother and father had sent her.

He wasn’t speaking Kryptonian. She recognised some of the words from the language the other humans had spoken, but Kara didn’t know what they meant.

“I must find my cousin,” she said. “Do you understand me?”

Her rescuer bowed his head, and then Kara felt a tingling in her mind.

_“Relax, child,”_ her rescuer said. His lips didn’t move, and he was speaking Kryptonian now. _“No, I have simply connected our minds.”_

Which meant he could hear all her thoughts. He knew she had to find Kal-El, she had to-

_“I will help you. But first we must find a place to hide.”_

“Who are you?” Kara asked. He smiled and changed his form. He had green skin now, and he was taller, and wearing clothing she didn’t recognise. Her father had not mentioned this was an ability humans possessed.

_“I am not human, Kara. My name is J’onn J’onzz. I am the last Green Martian.”_

“The last?” Kara asked. If he was also the last, that meant he knew what it was like to lose his home too. “I think my cousin and I are the last kryptonians. I have to find him. Did those people have him?”

_“Not to my knowledge. They call themselves C.A.D.M.U.S. They are a group of humans with their own agendas. Dangerous.”_

“Why did they want me?”

_“Because you are unique. You have abilities on this planet they have never seen. They wished to use you.”_

“They tried to take my blood,” Kara said. “The needle broke. Why did you help me?”

_“You are a child. Younger than my daughters when I lost them.”_

“And the other man? Who was he?”

_“His name was Jeramiah Danvers. He is human. Not like the ones you have met. He spoke of his own daughter, and his wife. We will find her.”_

“Why?”

_“Because he said she will help us.”_

“Will she know how to find my cousin?”

_“I do not know, Kara. But we will try.”_

* * *

J’onn J’onzz had helped Kara hide in the woods. It was cold outside, but he had some blankets and food he said had been provided by Jeramiah Danvers.

Kara stuck close to him. He had promised C.A.D.M.U.S. would not hurt her again. He had promised to protect her.

Kara had promised to protect Kal-El. She had to find him. If C.A.D.M.U.S. found him…

A noise woke Kara. Music she didn’t recognise. And the sun…

“It’s so yellow,” Kara whispered. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

_“Mars and Earth share a sun,” _J’onn spoke in her mind. _“But it is closer to Earth than Mars. When I first saw it, I could not believe how much of the sky it took up.”_

“Krypton has a red sun,” Kara said. “Aunt Astra told me it used to be yellow, before Rao gave us life, but as it aged it grew and turned red. What is the music?”

_“Birdsong. We did not have that on Mars either. Do you see those creatures?” _J’onn pointed to a small feathered shape in a tree and Kara looked in awe. _“Earth has many birds. They sing to each other every time the sun rises.”_

“They’re beautiful,” Kara said. “Where will we find Jeramiah Danvers’ wife?”

_“A town known as Midvale. I will fly us.”_

* * *

J’onn landed them frequently, so Kara could eat. She was ravenous.

“Will you teach me Martian?” Kara asked. “So I can speak with you?”

_“I will try,” _J’onn said. _“And English.”_

“What is En-g-lice?”

_“Humans have many languages. English is one of the most common in this part. It is the one they were speaking at C.A.D.M.U.S.”_

“You can change your form.”

_“Yes. It allows me to hide easily. I have found humans are usually afraid.”_

“I like your real shape.” Kara looked at herself. “I look human.”

_“Yes. It will help you hide.”_

“I must find Kal-El. He is just a baby, he doesn’t understand.”

_“We will find him, Kara. I promise you.”_

Kara looked up. Flying with J’onn and the birds would be magical. She jumped, imagining she could take off.

She didn’t feel the floor again.

“J’onn!” Kara shouted. She put her arms out to steady herself, but she was hovering in the air. “J’onn!”

_“Gently,” _J’onn said. _“I take it this is not normal for kryptonians.”_

“Mother said things would be different on Earth. I didn’t know she meant this different.”

* * *

J’onn taught her to fly on their way to Midvale. It was incredible. And if Kara could fly, maybe there were other things she could do too. Maybe that was why the needles for the blood tests had broken.

He started teaching her English too. And Martian. He pointed out Mars in the Earth sky when it got dark.

Somewhere Krypton was still up there. Kara had travelled lightyears; Krypton would still be visible from Earth, even if it was no longer there. Perhaps it would be better if she couldn’t find it.

But all the stars were so different. Everything was so different.

They reached Midvale under cover of darkness. J’onn had changed back into his human shape. He held Kara’s hand and they knocked on the door.

A woman answered. She frowned and spoke to J’onn in English. Kara looked up at him. She understood a few words now. Child. C.A.D.M.U.S. Escape. Jeramiah.

Mrs Danvers invited them in, and Kara stayed close to J’onn.

_“Mrs Danvers says her daughter is asleep upstairs,” _J’onn said. _“She has already been visited by people looking for us after they discovered Jeramiah’s betrayal.”_

“Have we caused trouble?”

Mrs Danvers spoke to J’onn, and he replied. Kara nodded.

_“She says you aren’t trouble,” _J’onn said. _“You are a child, and if their positions were reversed, she would have saved you and sent you to Jeramiah.”_

“Thank you,” Kara said. Mrs Danvers offered her a cup.

_“Hot chocolate,” _J’onn said. _“It is an Earth drink. Try it.”_

Kara sipped. This wasn’t like anything on Krypton either.

“It’s nice,” Kara said. “Thank you.”

* * *

Mrs Danvers had offered Kara a proper bed. It was nice. It was the first one Kara had slept in since Krypton.

She didn’t know how long it had been. She remembered being trapped in the Phantom Zone, but time didn’t pass in there. And she didn’t know where Kal-El had crashed.

She got up at sunrise again, to watch, and to listen to the birds sing. Earth did seem to be a beautiful planet.

Her door opened and a small child was stood there. A stuffed creature was clutched tightly in her hand and her thumb was in her mouth.

“Alex,” Mrs Danvers said. She said something to Kara, then something to herself.

“You are Alex?” Kara asked. The girl nodded. “My name is Kara Zor-El.”

“Kar,” Alex said. She held out the stuffed creature. “Bear.”

“Hello, Bear,” Kara said.

* * *

They stayed with Eliza and Alex for two months, and there was no sign of Kal-El. Kara’s English was improving, despite her struggles. Eliza said most human children took years to learn a new language though, and English was difficult.

She’d had an idea for finding Kal-El. Kara’s pod could have found him, but C.A.D.M.U.S. had that. But Eliza had worked with something called a D.E.O., that had been how Jeramiah found out about J’onn and her. And they had satellites which would detect objects like Kal-El’s pod.

Nothing had arrived when Kara had.

“Perhaps his ship was diverted,” J’onn said.

“The Phantom Zone was between us and Earth,” Kara said, trying English. “I believe I was caught in it. Maybe Kal-El is there?”

“The Phantom Zone?” Eliza asked.

“It is a point of space time does not act as it does in the rest of the universe,” Kara said.

“And you were trapped,” Eliza said. “Maybe Kal-El wasn’t.”

“I do not know how long I was there for,” Kara said. “I do not know how I escaped.”

“No, but we can look for historic records for something that might be Kal-El’s ship. And if not, perhaps he got trapped too, and he’ll arrive soon.”

Kara nodded.

* * *

Kara may have struggled with some English still, but she understood enough to know Eliza and J’onn were talking about C.A.D.M.U.S. and it wasn’t as if she had anything to pack. Eliza had let her borrow clothes while she stayed, but Kara would leave them.

She had to find Kal-El.

“Kara?” J’onn asked. “What are you doing?”

“You said that C.A.D.M.U.S. are coming,” Kara said. “Are we not leaving?”

“We are,” J’onn said. “Eliza and Alex are coming with us.”

“Why?”

“Because Eliza wants to help us. She has found a record of something falling to Earth four years ago.”

“Kal-El?” Kara asked. “Can we go? I didn’t mean to listen; everything is so loud.”

“Come.” J’onn offered her his hand.

* * *

Smallville’s name was apt. It was very small.

Eliza had packed everything she could, and Kara sat in the back of the car with Alex. It wasn’t as fast as flying, or as fun, but it would help them not be noticed.

Everything was loud still. Eliza and J’onn said it was the same as her flying. Things were different on Earth. Maybe because the sun was different.

Kara waited in the car with Alex while J’onn and Eliza went to ask about Kal-El’s pod.

“They say it was a satellite,” J’onn said when he came back. “Just past the outskirts of town.”

“It might not be him, Kara,” Eliza said. “If it’s not, we can keep looking.”

* * *

The man had said it crashed by the side of the road, but there was no sign of anything. If Kal-El had been there, Kara didn’t know where he’d gone. Maybe C.A.D.M.U.S. had found him, or- or- or-

_“Calm, Kara,” _J’onn’s voice said in her mind.

A dog bounded towards them.

“Skippy!”

A boy ran out the field after the dog and looked up at Kara. He looked- He looked just like Aunt Lara.

“Kal-El? Is that you?” Kara asked in Kryptonian.

“Mama!” the boy shouted in English. A woman rushed out the field after him.

“Clark, you mustn’t run off like that,” she said.

“Clark,” Kara said. The woman narrowed her eyes.

“And you are?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Eliza said. “We heard something crashed here from space around four years ago?”

“My husband and I were in the city,” Clark’s mother said. “Adopting our son. It was taken away by some government types before we even got home.”

“C.A.D.M.U.S.,” Kara said in Kryptonian. “J’onn, it was them, they took Kal-El-”

“Where did you say you were from?” Clark’s mother asked, eyes narrowed.

“Midvale,” Eliza said.

“You are worried,” J’onn said. He shifted his form to his original green. “We are not here to hurt you son, ma’am.”

“Sure looks like you are, space man,” Clark’s mother said. Kara looked at them. Alex had something to draw with. Perhaps...

Kara quickly sketched the symbol of the House of El and offered it to Clark’s mother.

“My cousin,” she said. “Please.”

“Where’ve you seen this?”

“It’s my family-” Kara looked at J’onn for the word.

“Crest,” he said. “Family crest.”

“I’m Kara Zor-El,” Kara said. “I’m looking for my cousin.”

“Maybe you should come inside.”


	3. Day 13: Word Prompt- Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has a couple of warnings for some alcoholism, a brief mention of suicidal thoughts, and like a sentence which has a tiny bit of implied transphobia, but we're not going into detail on any of that, it's just Laurel's having a really bad time and things will in the future get much, much better

Dinah shouldn’t have left. She needed to find Sara, she knew her Sara was still alive, she could feel it in her bones, but she shouldn’t have left. Or she should have taken Laurel with her.

She kept her hand on Laurel’s back as Laurel stayed hunched over. From the number of empty bottles on the counter, this wasn’t the first night she’d done this. Dinah knew Quentin had a history of issues with alcohol, she knew they’d flared up when Sara had gone, but she hadn’t noticed her Laurel had the same. She should have. She shouldn’t have left her.

“It’s okay, honey,” Dinah said, rubbing a circle on Laurel’s back. “It’s okay.”

* * *

Dinah cleaned up the empty bottles, and moved the full ones, when Laurel eventually feel asleep. She was glad she did when the first thing Laurel did the following morning was reach for one.

She looked awful. Black bags under her eyes, sickly pale, drab hair…

“No,” Dinah said. Laurel looked at her. “You don’t need that.”

“It helps,” Laurel said.

"It’s not helping you. Look at you.”

“Why do you suddenly care? What are you even doing here?”

“Tommy called me.”

“And you actually answered?”

“Laurel-”

“Just go away. Go back on your quest or whatever and let me deal with this my-”

“This isn’t dealing with it.”

“Neither’s denial! Sara is dead, Mom! Sara and Oliver are both dead and he picked her over me because he knew his parents would never accept me and I didn’t even get to go to his funeral, and then you both left me too because Sara’s your fav-”

“Laurel, honey, you are my daughter, I love you. I don’t love you less than Sara. I’m sorry I’ve made you feel that way. But this will kill you.”

“So? It would be easier.”

Dinah could feel the tears in her eyes. She was the first person Laurel had come out too, when she was just a little girl. Laurel had picked the name Dinah Laurel because she wanted to share her name with her mother. And she’d been feeling like that and Dinah hadn’t been there. She hadn’t told her that.

“Come with me,” Dinah said.

“Where?”

“Please, honey.”

* * *

Ted hadn’t opened the gym yet. Laurel dragged her feet behind Dinah.

“You think exercise is going to help this?”

“You need something,” Dinah said. She bent down and picked the lock. Ted would know it was her.

The door swung open.

“How do you know how to do that?” Laurel asked.

“That’s a long story,” Dinah said. She led Laurel into the building. Assuming Ted had kept it, the door down should be right around-

Dinah pushed the bookcase along and stepped through the door hidden behind it.

“What are we breaking into?” Laurel asked.

“You’ll see,” Dinah said. She led Laurel down the stairs.

The mannequins were still there, still wearing the costumes. The room wasn’t even dusty, that must have been Ted’s work.

Laurel looked around the room in awe.

“What is this place?”

“Welcome to the J.S.A.,” Ted said.

Dinah turned around, and hugged Ted and Alan. They looked older than when she’d last seen them.

“The what?” Laurel asked.

“The Justice Society of America,” Dinah said. “A team of superheroes fighting to save the world.”

“We used to be,” Alan said. “That was a long time ago. It’s good to see you again, Dinah. This must be Laurel.”

“Laurel, this is Ted Grant and Alan Scott,” Dinah said. “They used to be my teachers.”

“Teachers?” Laurel asked. Dinah pointed at the Black Canary costume. “This was yours?”

“For a short time.”

“You really went out in a blue leotard and fishnets?”

“And a blonde wig,” Dinah said.

“What about the other ones?”

“Star Girl,” Ted said. “Doctor Mid-Nite, Obsidian, Hourman, Vixen, Commander Steel, Johnny Quick, Liberty Bell, Jesse Quick, Wildcat, Green Lantern, and the Flash.”

Dinah nodded at Jay’s missing helmet.

“What happened to them?”

“It was a long time ago,” Alan said. “Vixen, Doctor Mid-Nite, Commander Steel, and Hourman died. Obsidian’s not well. Johnny Quick and Liberty Bell both retired. Star-Girl’s been around. The Flash and Jesse Quick died.”

“And Wildcat and Green Lantern?”

“You’re looking at them,” Ted said. “What can we do for you, Dinah?”

“Do you still teach boxing?”

* * *

“Why’d you stop?” Laurel asked. “You were training to be a superhero, and you stopped.”

“The J.S.A. disbanded,” Dinah said. “Most of them had retired. That was what I was doing, with Jesse, Rick, and Esi, we were supposed to be the next generation. But then something happened in Keystone City. Jay sent a distress call, and Jesse ran, and then Keystone was just gone. There was nothing left. Not even a sign it had been there. They shut everything down after that, and I got married and had you.”

“And the others?”

“Alan looked for Jay. He and his wife Joan lived in Keystone. Johnny and Libby looked for Jesse, she’s their daughter. Amaya and Esi only occasionally visited from Zambesi, I know their village was destroyed in 1992 and Ted said everyone died. Hank had his son and grandsons by that point. I think Rick went looking for Jesse. Hourman’s son. They were always close. And Ted brought everything to Star City and kept teaching.”

“You really think this will help?”

“It won’t bring them back. But it’s something else to focus on. An outlet that isn’t alcohol. You can’t just drink yourself down a drain, Laurel. It’s just boxing.”


	4. Day 22: Word Prompt- Summer

"I made a mistake," Ollie said. "I shouldn't have invited you. I shouldn't have dragged you into all this."

"Yeah," Sara said. "I'm kind of wishing I hadn't got on that boat either." She sighed. "I'm glad it was me and not Laurel though."

"Sara-"

"No, I don't want that to have happened to Laurel. You don't either."

"No, I don't. That doesn't mean it was better it was you than it was someone else. It shouldn't have happened at all."

"I know. I think. Why did you bring me and not Laurel?"

"You're my friend."

"I've known you since I was four, Ollie, I know you're in love with my sister. Why'd you keep sleeping with other people and ask me to come instead of telling her?"

"I guess I was afraid."

"I guess neither of your parents exactly demonstrated what a committed relationship looks like," Sara said. They looked down at Emiko and Robert fighting with sticks on the sand. "Thea's Tommy's sister too?"

"Technically. But that's not- My parents never approved of me even being friends with Laurel, I knew they'd hate it. I guess I was afraid I'd screw things up with everyone I love."

"What about now?"

"I wish I'd told her. I think it's too late now."

"I want to go home."

"Me too."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Dad and Shado are both gone. Emi and Robbie need me to look after them. I'm their brother. I have to get them home somehow."

"Moira won't like them."

"She'll get used to it. What are you doing?"

"Nyssa wants me to go with her."

"She's an assassin."

"I know. Maybe- Maybe I can use that to stop what happened to me, what happened to you, I can stop it happening to anyone else. After everything we've been through, everything we've done, I think- I think it's for the best."

"It gets you off this island.”

“When you get home, please don't tell anyone about this. About me."

"I won't." Ollie sat back. "So much for our summer plans."

"I guess so."


	5. Day 18: Word Prompt- Poetry

Alex groaned. Essay writing was the worst.

She picked up the phone and called Kara.

“Hey, Alex,” Kara said. “What’s up?”

“Are you busy?” Alex asked.

“It can wait. How’s everything back home?”

“Fine,” Alex said. “I need help with my English homework. We’re supposed to be analysing this poem, A Martian Sends a Postcard Home, and write about how an alien might feel landing on Earth.”

“Oh,” Kara said.

“The first bits about books, and how they might not think they’re books, but they might be birds.”

“We didn’t have many books, but it was the birds that startled me more. The singing. I still get up early every morning to listen to the birdsong.”

“What was it like?”

“Scary. The scariest thing I’ve ever done. Everything was so strange. Even the sun was a different colour. For a long time, all I wanted to do was find Kal-El and go back home. But I didn’t have a sister on Krypton. It was difficult, but you, Eliza, J’onn, Martha, and Johnathon gave Clark and me a home here. Clark doesn’t remember Krypton. I think that made it easier for him. I compared everything at first, sometimes I still do.”

“You miss it.”

“Yes.”

“Would you go back, if it was still there?”

“I don’t know. I had family on Krypton, but I have family on Earth now. I have two homes. Sometimes I’m not sure where I belong.”

“I would miss you. If you left.”

“I’d miss you too. Do you have enough for your essay?”

“How can you write for a job? English is the worst.”

“It did take me two months to learn, Spanish only took me a month and a half. Reporting lets me tell the world the truth.”

“It exposes people like C.A.D.M.U.S.”

“Maybe one day. It’s a way to help people.”

“You could help people in more ways. You have superpowers.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“There’s a lady in Star City who goes by the Black Canary, Clark told me. You could help her.”

“But then people would know I’m an alien.”

“Not if you had a secret identity. You could fly around the city, and then at the end of the day you get to fly home and go back to being Kara Danvers. You like helping people. You’d be a great superhero. The best. The best Superwoman.”

Kara laughed.

“I’ll think about it. You want me to fly over with doughnuts this evening?”

“I’ll tell Ma you’re coming for dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Martian Sends a Postcard Home, by Craig Raine: http://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/a-martian-sends-a-postcard-home/


	6. Day 8: Word Prompt- Colours

Doctor Thompkins seemed nice. And she'd asked Alfred to join her for dinner, which meant Bette was Bruce-sitting. It was more that Bruce hid from everyone except Alfred and Bette, and Kate had made up another excuse (she'd been doing that a lot recently; Bette had a feeling it had something to do with Officer Sawyer who worked with Detective Gordon) and Alfred had been very reluctant to go until Bette had said she'd watch Bruce, but it still left her alone at the mansion with Bruce.

Alfred hadn't gone until he'd left three different meals for Bette to heat up, with clear instructions on everything from cooking to the night-light Bruce denied the existence of but wouldn't sleep without, but eventually he had gone and left Bette alone in the big, empty house.

She'd been there for half an hour and Bruce still hadn't left his room.

He didn't answer when Bette knocked either. She pushed open the door to find Bruce balancing precariously on a chair, and the wall covered in newspaper clippings, post-it notes, a map of Gotham, and yarn joining up everything.

Bruce slipped and Bette darted forward.

He scowled up at her and rubbed his knee.

"Get out."

"What is all this?" Bette asked. She looked at the newspapers.

"None of your business."

"Does Alfred know?"

Bruce climbed back on the chair and reached for the top corner.

"I'm not playing tennis with you; you can go away."

"That's about Aunt Martha and Uncle Thomas," Bette said, pointing at the centre article. "What are you doing?"

"Solving the case," Bruce said. "Obviously."

"Detective Gordon said G.C.P.D. arrested someone a few days after it happened."

"And after he said he thinks they were framed. But no one will look at it again so I'm going to solve it."

"And then what?"

"I don't know."

"What's the rest of it?"

"Every corrupt politician, businessman, and police officer in Gotham."

"There's a lot."

"One of them did it."

"They're hurting other people, aren't they?"

"A lot."

"And Detective Gordon can't do anything without losing his job. But you can't solve a case shut in here, we need to ask these people some questions, and stop them hurting more people."

"How?"

"Have you heard that rumour about Batwoman?"

* * *

"I think we should rethink our costumes," Robin said. "Why am I in green tights?"

"They were the only ones I could find," Bat-Girl said.

"And a red shirt?"

"You said you wanted to be called Robin."

"It's not very protective. Neither is your pyjama costume."

"It was the only thing I could find," Bat-Girl said, looking down at her purple onesie. She'd painted a yellow bat on it.

"And yellow capes are a bad idea," Robin said. "Everyone's going to see us, and these masks are only cardboard, what happens when it rains?"

"Next time, we can cut up your curtains," Bat-Girl said. "Quiet, or he'll hear you."

Robin crouched low behind Bat-Girl. Carmine Falcone, one of the reasons Gotham was in this mess. One of the leading suspects in the murder of his- Of Martha and Thomas Wayne. If they could stop him, they could fix a lot.

Bat-Girl jumped out first, and Robin followed with the stick he'd found. He swung it around, aiming for one of Falcone's men.

They had guns.

Robin froze. Couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe-

Red flashed in front of him. Falcone was gone, but his two men were on the ground, unconscious. Sirens were on their way.

Batwoman looked down at both of them. Her costume was black, with just a red bat on the front, and red on the inside of her cape. Her lips were red too, and Bruce couldn't see the rest of her face.

"What do you two think you're doing?"

"We're trying to help," Bette said. "Like you. I'm Bat-Girl, he's Robin."

Batwoman sighed.

"Follow me."

Bruce followed, sticking close to Bette. He still couldn't breathe right.

Batwoman had a car. Just a little black one, but she opened one of the doors.

"Get in."

"No way," Bette said.

"Get in the car, Bette."

Bruce tugged on Bette's hand. She looked down at him and nodded.

"Fine."

Bruce sat in the back with Bette, as close as he could. She kept an arm around him.

Batwoman drove them back to Wayne Manor and opened the door.

Bette scowled at her, but she helped Bruce out and inside. They trudged after Batwoman, inside the manor. Alfred was waiting in the hall.

"Found your missing kids, Alfred," Batwoman said. "Trying to fight Carmine Falcone."

"He's a bad guy," Bette said.

"You're sixteen, Bette. Bruce is fourteen, what were you two thinking?"

"No one else is going to do anything."

"I am doing something."

Bruce scowled at her, and Batwoman sighed. She took her mask off.

"I will find out what happened for you, Bruce," Kate said. "But you can't fight Falcone. He's dangerous."

"I want to help," Bruce said. "They were my parents."

"It's dangerous."

"Bruce has already started solving it," Bette said. "If you get to fight criminals, we should too."

"Perhaps a team helping you wouldn't be a bad thing, Miss Kate," Alfred said. "From inside the house." He shot a pointed look at Bette and Bruce.

Kate sighed.

"Fine," she said. "From inside the house only."

Bruce met Bette's eyes, and she smirked. No way were they staying inside the house.


	7. Day 6: Word Prompt- Kids

"Laurel, I can explain," Oliver said.

"You can explain the child."

"This is Connor. He's my son."

"How many children do you have?" Thea asked.

"Not now, Thea," Laurel said. "Ollie..."

"I met Sandra while I was working for A.R.G.U.S., I told you about that. She was important to me. A friend. We tried, but we both decided it wasn’t for us. We work better as friends, and I'm in love with you."

"Damn," Roy said. "Great time to drop that bombshell, Ollie."

"Yeah, Ollie," Emiko said.

"Can I hold Connor?" Robbie asked.

"Do you think you four could give us some space?" Laurel asked. "Just for five minutes?"

"Urgh, fine," Thea said. "I'm going to go make popcorn."

"I'll make sure she doesn't burn the house down," Roy said.

Laurel waited for them to leave before looking back at Ollie, who still had a two-year-old asleep in his arms.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For your terrible timing?"

"Sandra heard I was back and came to find me. She's Connor's mother, she'll raise him, but she wants me to be a part of his life. I want to be a part of his life. He's my son."

"Ollie, I'm not upset with you. I was hurt when I found out about William, because of how close we were back then, but we weren't together. And you've apologised for that even though you didn't have to, and you've only met William a few times, but I know you love him. You're a good dad. Emi and Robbie are proof of that."

"They're my siblings."

"I know. And yet."

"Yeah," Ollie said. "And yet. You're a good mother too. If Roy and Thea are anything to go by."

"They're more sibling age."

"And yet."

"And yet. Why did you take Sara with you?"

"I was young, stupid, and scared. It was a mistake. I kept your picture with me the whole time and every time I looked at it, I regretted how much I hurt you. I'm so sorry, Di."

"I forgive you. We were both young. I did love Tommy, Ollie."

"I know. I know after all I've done; I can't expect you to feel the same way-"

"And if I do?"

"If you do?"

"I think we're going to need some time to work it out. A lot's happened, for both of us. And we have kids now. And a whole city to look after."

"But you think we can work it out."

"I hope so."

An explosion came from the kitchen and Connor opened his eyes.

"I think we need to sort our kids out."

"Yeah. Also, I left Sandra talking to Felicity in the front room?"

"You get the kids, I'll get Felicity."


	8. Day 14: Trope Prompt- Fairy-tale

“Music Meister is in custody,” Nia said. “Any change?”

“I’m sorry, Dreamer,” M’Gann said. Nia stepped fully into the room where Kara was still lying motionless on the bed. “We’re doing what we can, but we don’t know enough about kryptonian biology, or whatever Music Meister is.”

“You know Superwoman won’t let you run those tests.”

“I’m with her. I just wish I could help.”

Nia looked down at Kara and sighed.

And then a crash came from outside and suddenly someone dressed in blue with Kara’s crest on their chest and a red cape on was standing next to Nia.

“Is she okay?” he asked.

“Who are you?” M’Gann asked. She looked pointedly at the D.E.O. agents walking around.

“I’m, um, Superman? I’m Superwoman’s cousin. I saw on the news she was hurt and flew over. We’ve-”

“Since you’re her cousin, I’m sure you know exactly how to fix this,” M’Gann said. A Green Martian landed next to Superman. “Manhunter,” M’Gann said.

“Agent M’orzz,” he said. “Superman and I can take it from here."

M'Gann nodded and Superman picked up Kara.

“Meet you there,” he said and flew off.

“Dreamer?” the Green Martian asked. “Can you fly?”

“No,” Nia said.

“Then hold tight.”

* * *

Kara had taken Nia flying before. She’d been able to appreciate it more then.

She’d have been able to appreciate the ice structure in front of her more if Kara had been awake.

“Welcome to the Fortress of Solitude,” Superman said. He carried Kara in. “Kelex, we need help.”

A floating robot flew out.

“Kelex will take care of her,” the Green Martian said. “It’s why M’Gann called us. I am J’onn J’onzz.”

“Kara’s adopted father,” Nia said. “She’s told me a little. I’m Nia Nal.”

“Kara’s told us a lot about you. Both Nia and Dreamer, though she is always careful to talk as if you were two people.”

Nia smiled softly. Just like she’d promised.

Superman landed beside them.

“Kelex doesn’t know what to do,” he said. “He wants to know if Music Meister said anything that might help.”

“I don’t think so,” Nia said. “He just said he hoped she was enjoying the story.”

“Kelex did say she seems to be dreaming,” Superman said. “Maybe true love’s kiss would wake her up.”

“True love’s kiss,” Nia said.

“It works in fairy-tales.”

“If she’s dreaming, I may be able to enter her mind and help her wake up,” J’onn said.

* * *

Nia clasped Kara’s hand as J’onn shut his eyes. Superman seemed just as nervous as Nia did.

“Something’s blocking me,” J’onn said. “Ms Nal, may I?”

“If it’ll help Kara,” Nia said.

Nia shut her eyes, and something tugged at her mind.

And then she was in a room she didn’t recognise. The sky outside seemed orange, and the sun glowed red.

The room was glowing green.

“Is this kryptonite?” Nia asked.

“I think it might be,” Kara said. “This is the remains of Krypton.”

Nia looked outside again. Buildings were crumbling, and the sun seemed to be getting larger.

“You just missed another musical number,” Kara said. “Unless Music Meister really miscast the Wicked Witch of Daxam or whoever you’re supposed to be.”

“J’onn brought me here, I think,” Nia said. “I’m not sure where he is.”

“He’s the tin man,” Kara said. “My cousin is the scarecrow, and my sister is the cowardly lion.”

“Is this the Wizard of Oz?” Nia asked.

“Sort of. But on Krypton. We’re here to see the wizard.”

“You’re Dorothy. Have you tried clicking your heels together three times?”

“That was the first thing I did, right after I crushed Leslie Willis with my pod.”

A cat mowed and pushed itself against Nia’s legs. She reached down to stroke it.

“That’s Streaky,” Kara said.

“The cat you had when you first got here,” Nia said. “We don’t know how to wake you up.”

“Music Meister said I have to find the end of the script. I know how the story goes. Dorothy finds the wizard, clicks her heels together, and wakes up back home in Kanas. I think that’s the problem.”

“You need us to take you back to Smallville?”

“Krypton is my home. That’s why my adopted mother first showed me Wizard of Oz, I was Dorothy, but Earth was the strange place, and Krypton was my Kansas. I lost my home.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how much that hurts. But Earth is your home too now. There are people there who love you, and we really want you to wake up, Kara.”

“I know what people say about aliens, about refugees and migrants. I get a pass because I look like a white human, but… Maybe it would have been easier to just hide forever.”

“You couldn’t. You couldn’t ignore someone asking for help, not if you could do something. You’re a hero. You’re my hero. I couldn’t have done this without you. After losing my mother, and Maeve’s still angry at me, you’ve been there every step of the way. For reporting too. You gave me the courage I needed to pitch my ideas to Ms Grant. I’m lucky to have met you, every part of you. Kara Danvers, Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, it’s all you.”

“I’m glad I met you. I still don’t know how to wake up.”

“Your cousin said true love’s kiss. No one said it has to be romantic, I could go back and ask J’onn, or your cousin. They love you. I love you.”

“And you’re here,” Kara said. “I love you too.”

Her lips met Nia’s.

* * *

And then Nia was back in the Fortress of Solitude, holding Kara’s hand again. J’onn smiled and nodded.

“Ow,” Kara said.

“You’re awake!” Superman cheered. He threw his arms around Kara.

“What are you wearing?” Kara asked.

“Ma made it for emergencies,” he said. “I thought this counts. And if you need a sidekick-”

“Kal-El, you are sixteen years old, and Martha and Johnathon have already told you to finish school first. Nia, this is my cousin, Kal-El.”

“Clark Kent,” he said and offered Nia his hand. Nia shook it. “Does this mean you’re finally going to bring someone home, because Alex really, really wants to meet Nia.”

“Possibly,” Kara said.


	9. Day 2: Trope Prompt- Hurt/Comfort

If the League of Assassins could stop sending people to Star City, that would be grand.

Apparently, they really did not like Laurel. Kate didn’t have to deal with this. Actually, Kate had to deal with exactly this, only Ra’s mostly sent Talia to Gotham and Kate spent more of it trying to convince Bruce not to become best friends with the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul than fighting whoever came with her. But maybe Bruce could help Talia not end up like her father or Nyssa. 

Laurel was fairly sure Kate had never had to deal with one of them specifically trained to fight her though. This Ta-er al-Safar even had a little sonic device like Laurel’s Canary Cry she’d recently developed after a slight incident involving a magician and John Constantine. And he hadn’t even brought Zed or Zatanna with him. He was back on his ‘I work alone’ bullshit, but Chas said that was probably his defence kicking in after they’d found out about Zed’s tumour, and Zatanna would sort it out after she got back from picking up milk and sorting out this Trigon or whatever she’d said she’d stumbled into. Laurel really hated magic sometimes.

She wasn’t sure if she hated magic or the League of Assassins more. At least they were predictable.

Laurel knocked the assassin off her feet with a kick and her hood slipped.

That was impossible.

“Sara?” Laurel asked.

* * *

Ollie sat next to her when she got home. An unopened bottle of wine was on the table.

“This was one of the things you didn’t tell me,” she said.

“Sara asked me not to,” Ollie said. “A lot happened on that island.”

“Like my sister joining the League of Assassins.”

“Yes.”

“You should have told me, Oliver.”

I know. I’m sorry.”

“I have to find her.”

“Do you want help?”

“Not right now. Can you get rid of that?”

“I’ll wait up for you,” he said.

* * *

Laurel wasn’t sure where to find Sara. But she had heard a few people mention something going on in an old clock tower.

Sara had her hood down, and her shirt rolled up.

“You’re bleeding,” Laurel said. Sara reached for her staff. “No, wait. Sara.”

“My name is Ta-er Al-Safar.”

“Your name is Sara Lance,” Laurel said. She took off her mask. “You’re my sister.”

“Laurel?”

“Here, let me do that.” Laurel knelt next to her and took the bandage. “Did I do that?” Sara shook her head. “Ra’s didn’t tell you it was me.”

“He knows?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think so, but him sending you after me seems like too much of a coincidence.”

“How is it you?”

“Apparently Mom used to be a superhero and never told us, but she thought something might help after you and Ollie died and introduced me to Wildcat and Green Lantern from the old J.S.A., just for boxing lessons, but then Thea came to find me after she overheard Malcolm Merlyn and Moira talking about something and found an old notebook in Robert’s handwriting, so then I had to go save the city. Made some improvements on Mom’s costume, I didn’t fancy the fishnets, then I got followed around by a teenager named Roy, so I ended up adopting him, and then Moira went to prison so Thea decided to come and stay with me as well. And then Ollie came back, with Emi and Robbie, he’s got two sons too, Will and Connor, and we have another friend called Felicity, they’re all at home, you’ll have to wait for morning to meet them all, but Ollie said-”

“I can’t go with you.”

“Why not?”

“They won’t let me leave.”

“Listen to me.” Laurel shuffled around and put her hands on Sara’s shoulders. “You are my sister. I lost you once. I am not losing you again.”

Sara put her head on Laurel’s shoulder and Laurel could feel tears. She wrapped her arms around Sara, fully intending to never let go again.

“I’ve got you,” Laurel said. “I’m here. Come home, Sara.”


	10. Day 15: Trope Prompt- First Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Talia are about 19 here and there's zero smut in this. I've actually just decided Bruce is aro ace in this AU now but I don't quite know where to put that in.

"Hey, Talia," Bruce said. She sat down next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Nyssa's running around Star City," Talia said. "Father wants Ta-er al-Sahar back with the League, and so does Nyssa. Nyssa was with her. You're on your own."

"I just dropped Batgirl back off at home," Bruce said. "Kate's with Maggie and Bette's meeting some guy."

"Weird," Talia said.

"Yeah."

"Do you ever think about it?"

"What, sex? I don't think so. Do you?"

"Maybe it's something that makes sense after you've done it. But the only person I'm comfortable enough with to even consider that sort of thing is you.”

“Yeah,” Bruce said. They both sat in silence for a minute. “You don’t actually want to, do you?”

“No.”

“Good.” Bruce nodded. “You’re my friend, and I like you, but it sounds weird.”

“I’ve never had a friend before,” Talia said. “I think I’d like one. My father and your cousins won’t be happy.”

“You’re not your father.”

A light shone in the sky above G.C.P.D.

“I have to go,” Bruce said. “Any other trouble I should know about?”

“I’ll let you know. See you around, Batman.”

“Till next time, Talia.”


	11. Day 12: Word Prompt- Dreams

Blue.

The universe was blue.

Cisco watched himself fly back; the crack of thunder sound overhead. His body slumped against the wall and then he could see so many other people. A plane exploding, electrical wires surging, a bolt of lightning, liquid nitrogen spilling. So many people all across Central, and then he was in S.T.A.R. Labs.

Doctor Wells was arguing with a man, and then that man was in the particle accelerator. And then burning.

“Stop,” Cisco moaned.

Everything shrunk as he flew back out the solar system, out the galaxy, out the universe and then there was this tangled web of blue light and Cisco could see everything. Every person, every version of every person, every event that had ever happened-

He looked down at his hands and they were made of the same blue, pulsating light.

Red lightning ripped through the blue and Cisco was falling, falling, he could see a grave, something burning up in the atmosphere as it crashed towards the Earth, and then a blue pulse pulled everything back together, and a pair of hands caught Cisco.

He opened his eyes. The ceiling above him was white, and two people were standing over him.

“You’re awake,” the woman said.

“Where am I?”

“S.T.A.R. Labs,” the man said. “This is Doctor Shawna Baez, I’m Hartley Rathaway. Can you tell me your name?”

“Cisco Ramon.”

“Good,” Doctor Baez said. “And the last date you remember?”

“11th December?”

“Year?”

“2013, what’s going on?”

“You were in a coma,” Doctor Baez said gently. “I need to check your eyes now.”

“A coma?”

“For a month,” Mister Rathaway said.

“Take it easy,” Doctor Baez said. “Hartley, can you get Doctor Wells?”

Mister Rathaway nodded and left the room.

“Do you remember anything, Mister Ramon?” Doctor Baez asked.

“The particle accelerator was on the news,” Cisco said. “I hit my head? I think I was dreaming.”

“Do you remember what about?”

Blue.

The word died on his tongue.

“No,” Cisco said.


	12. Day 1: Word Prompt - Annoyance

The thing about Cobalt Blue was, he was a pain in Cisco's neck.

Cisco had been Vibe for a while now. Even before that, he'd worked for C.C.P.D., he knew criminals showed up, did illegal things, and usually they'd follow a pattern so someone could stop them doing the bad illegal things.

Take Mark Mardon. He was a very powerful metahuman. But ultimately, he was driven by anger and revenge and, sure, kidnapping Iris because she'd put his brother in the hospital (saving Patty and Cisco, so he wasn't holding that against anyone) sucked, but they did stop him.

Or Leonard Snart. Maybe he wasn't a metahuman, but he enjoyed stealing, and leaving as little evidence as he could, just to make everyone's jobs harder. He'd even kidnapped Hartley to get Vibe to reveal his existence to the public.

Even Caitlin Snow (Killer Frost as she was going by) had a motivation. Her fiancé had warned Doctor Wells about the accelerator's issues, then died trying to fix it because Doctor Wells hadn't listened, and she was angry. Maybe they'd since found Ronnie alive, but Hartley and Shawna hadn't managed to find Doctor Snow to tell her that yet.

But Cobalt Blue?

He was a thief. But he didn't seem to enjoy it like Snart did. He had no problems dropping everything and running when Cisco showed up to get him to stop, so he clearly wasn't that invested in whatever he was stealing.

And he always wore that blue mask to cover his face, so they couldn't catch a match from facial recognition. Cisco had no idea who Cobalt Blue actually was, and that seemed to be how he liked it.

He did know one thing: Cobalt Blue usually worked with an equally mysterious partner, who Hartley had dubbed John Silver. John also wore a mask (black), but unlike Cobalt, he didn't seem to have any powers. All Cisco knew was the two of them were close (like Snart and his friend Rory), and both seemed reluctant to hurt anyone (unlike Snart).

At least, it seemed that way at first.

* * *

Shawna's ex-boyfriend was a dick. So, naturally, she was upset when he escaped from prison, and Hartley took her to a bar to try and distract her. Cisco would have gone too, but it was Dante's birthday, and he'd already promised his parents he'd go to dinner.

He was starting to regret that when both his parents asked about the slight discolouration around his eye. Cisco knew it was from Rainbow Raider, and almost healed (a healing factor would be so good, how come he got everything but that, he bet Superwoman didn't have to deal with this), but his parents didn't know he was Vibe. And from their questions, he was starting to think they had some very different ideas of what was going on.

So, Hartley calling at the end of dinner really didn't help much.

"Sorry," Cisco said. "It's my friend."

Neither of his parents looked impressed when Cisco darted out to answer the phone.

"Hartley, this is really bad-"

"Shawna's been kidnapped."

"What?"

"We were in this bar and this really handsome guy came over to talk to her, so I gave them some space but waited just in case, then he offered to drive us both home, which seemed ok because he did seem nice except we went outside and Cobalt Blue was waiting there and he took Shawna."

"Cobalt Blue?"

"I have a really bad feeling handsome guy was John Silver. But he was so-"

"Hartley! What does Blue want with Shawna?"

"He wouldn't say, he said he just wanted Shawna and she went quietly to protect me."

"I'll be right there. Call Iris."

"But-"

"Call Iris. Right now."

Cisco hung up and grabbed his shoes.

"Let me guess," Dante said. "Something came up."

"I'm sorry," Cisco said.

"Cisco," his mother said. "You need to explain yourself."

“Cobalt Blue just kidnapped my friend. I need to make sure my other friend is all right. He was with her, he's blaming himself."

Cisco's father nodded, and Cisco darted out before anyone could say otherwise.

* * *

Hartley was still outside the bar, clearly shaken. Cisco rested a hand on his shoulder and gasped.

He was standing in a dusty building. Shawna was sat in a chair, hands in her lap, and Cobalt Blue was standing in front of her. Cisco blinked and he was standing next to Hartley.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," Cisco said. "I saw Shawna."

"Where? How is she?"

"She looked fine. I don't know where, but she was with Cobalt Blue."

“Cisco! Hartley!" Iris rushed over. Her badge was still clipped to her belt. "Do I need to call this in?"

"You saw her," Hartley said. "How? Can you do it again?"

"I don't know," Cisco said. "Maybe?"

"Don't worry," Iris said. She held up her phone. "Cobalt Blue's in Windsor Heights."

"How do you know that?" Hartley asked.

"Shawna just sent me her location."

"He kidnapped her and left her phone?" Cisco asked. "It's a trap."

"But you just said Cobalt Blue was with Shawna," Hartley said. "We have to go."

"It's a trap," Cisco said. "I'll go in, you wait outside with Iris."

* * *

Iris drove them to the house Cobalt Blue was apparently holding Shawna in. It looked empty.

Cisco opened a breach just inside. The corridor was dark, with a thick layer of dust covering everything.

The room lit up as lightning sparked around. Cisco threw up a hand and a blast caught it.

A man skittered back and hit the wall. He was on his feet again before Cisco could blink, and he cocked his head.

"You must be Vibe," he said. "My brother told me about you. He didn't mention you have such beautiful eyes."

"Um," Cisco said. "What?"

"You can call me Flash," he said.

"Flash."

"You know. Here one second-"

The lightning sparked and he vanished.

"And gone in a flash."

Cisco spun around and Flash waved.

"Where's Doctor Baez?"

"Inside. She's fine."

"You're sure of that."

"Of course. We don't hurt people, none of us want to hurt people. But Doctor Baez is the only doctor with experience with metahumans, and my brother acted rather rashly. He couldn't go to her, so he brought her to us."

"Your brother."

"You call him Cobalt Blue."

"Where is he?"

"Hopefully, gone," Flash said. "I'm just the distraction. See you around, Vibe."

Flash vanished through a door and Cisco rushed through. Shawna was waiting.

"I'm fine," she said, brushing Cisco off her. "You're supposed to be at dinner."

"Yeah," Cisco said. "I think I might have to tell my parents I'm a superhero now. Especially if Cobalt's back in town to give everyone another headache."

"He just wanted some help with his brother," Shawna said. "He's been passing out, I think it's hypoglycaemia, but I can't do proper tests here. And they wouldn't let me take them to S.T.A.R. Labs. They didn't want anything to do with Doctor Wells."

"We can figure that out when we catch them."


	13. Day 20: Word Prompt- Weird

“Mister Ramon,” Captain West said. “My office.”

Cisco gulped. That couldn’t be good. Joe was great, he loved Joe, but his captain voice was still a little scary.

Cisco sat in the chair Joe gestured to.

“What happened to your arm?”

“I fell down the stairs,” Cisco said. Technically, King Shark threw him down the stairs, but close enough. “It’s only a sprain, I can still work.”

“You’re frequently seen limping,” Joe said. “And with bandages.”

“Oh heck,” Cisco said. “My mother put you up to this.”

“Actually, your father stopped by this morning, but a lot of people have expressed concerns, Cisco. Iris hasn’t said anything, so I know you’ve told her what’s going on, and if it was some-”

“It’s because of the coma,” Cisco blurted out. “Because, um, because where I hit my head and I was unconscious I messed up my balance and now I’m really, really accident prone, and I keep falling down the stairs because my apartment building’s lift is broken.”

“You...”

“Also, I might be starting to get seizures again. Just little ones, not often, they won’t affect my work, I swear, and Iris has been keeping an eye on me and I know I should have told you, but I really like this job, and I don’t want to-”

“Cisco, slow down,” Joe said. “This is a medical issue.”

“Yes. It’s why I’ve been spending so much time at S.T.A.R. Labs. Physical therapy.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone because...”

“Um...”

“It would be weird if you were in a coma and had no affects,” Joe nods. “Do you need me to make allowances?”

“No. No, it’s fine, it won’t affect my work. Promise.”

“Good. You’re dismissed.”

Cisco jumped to his feet and opened the door.

“Cisco,” Joe said. Cisco paused and turned back around. “You don’t owe me an explanation as your boss. But a word of advice, as the father of your friend? Your parents are worried about you, and you’re not a very good liar.”


	14. Day 3: Setting Prompt- Coffee Shop AU

Cisco really had only meant to go and get coffee. Honestly. But then he’d gone and walked into a lanky man who was both handsome and familiar. And Cisco would definitely have remembered meeting someone this attractive if he’d seen their face, even if he hadn’t just managed the most spectacular catch he’d seen ever.

“Flash,” Cisco said, because he was an idiot who couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Flash’s eyes widened and his eyes darted to the door. “Don’t.”

“Vibe,” Flash said. “You’re Vibe.”

“No, I’m not.”

“As if I’d forget those beautiful eyes.”

“Please do not flirt with me. Can we take this conversation somewhere other than a public place?”

“Sure,” Flash said. “But I’m not going to S.T.A.R. Labs. Here, why don’t I pick the venue.”

“What-”

Cisco was cut off by a sudden rush of wind and swirl of electricity. By the time his vision stopped blurring he was standing in the Badlands, with Flash’s- surprisingly gentle- hands steadying him.

“I have work in ten minutes, you know.”

“You can do that teleporting thing,” Flash waved him off. “So, you have a job. Bet it would be pretty easy for me to find out your name now I know what your face looks like, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, well, same here,” Cisco said. Flash blinked and cocked his head. “You… You know, with facial recognition software?”

“I know. That’s what the mask is for? I just assumed you already knew.”

“How would I already know; you always wear a mask.”

“I thought Eobard would have told you.”

“Who?”

“Oh. But you work with S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“And they put you in a coma for nine months, and did something to your brother too, so you-”

“I love my powers,” Flash said. “I could have done without the coma and all the issues that came with that, but no one will ever catch me ever again.”

“So you can get away with more theft.”

“I’ve never stolen anything.”

“I literally stopped you robbing a bank last week.”

“First of all, if you stopped us that means I didn’t steal anything, second, I was just the distraction and it would have worked if I hadn’t passed out.”

“Shawna said your metabolism works too fast,” Cisco said. “Is that what this is about?”

“No, shops throw away plenty of good food,” Flash shrugged. “It would go to waste otherwise.”

“I am slightly concerned about that. What about that?” He pointed at the cup in Flash’s hand.

“Coffee’s nice sometimes. I got this by working. Maybe working for someone breaking the law, but it was still a job and money that I earnt.”

“I’m not sure that’s how it works,” Cisco said. “You should let Shawna actually help you.”

“If you try taking my brother, my cousin, or me to S.T.A.R. Labs, I’ll tell everyone what you look like. You might not show up on film, but I bet if I drew a picture that would show up.”

“Are you blackmailing me? I was trying to help.”

“No, you’re not. I am never going there. Don’t you think they would have taken me there after I got struck by lightning if we wanted their help?”

“I don’t get it. If you like your powers, what do you have against S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“You mean aside from the fact they make metahumans like my brother and me disappear?”

“They’re criminals-”

“And, as you were quick to point out earlier, so am I, Vibe. See you around.”

He vanished in a swirl of lightning.


	15. Day 24: Setting Prompt- Superheroes/Supervillains

It was Sunday morning. Why did they always pull this stunt Sunday morning.

Cisco breached into the bank.

“Oi, Cobalt Blue,” he said. Blue turned around. “Are you serious? Could I have one day off?”

“Sure you can,” Blue said. “You can carry on with your day and let us carry on with ours.”

“Yeah, no,” Cisco said. He raised his hand to shoot a pulse.

It shot off into the city and lightning blurred around him.

Flash grinned and waved.

“Hi,” he said. “Your hair’s looking nice.”

“Thanks,” Cisco said. “I was literally just about to shower when I got a phone call to say someone was robbing a bank on a Sunday morning.”

“Best time to rob a bank,” Flash shrugged. “There’s no one there to stop you.”

“Except me.”

“Not if I spend the whole time distracting you.”

Cisco opened a breach. Blue and John had already gone.

Flash was behind him again.

“Seriously?” Cisco asked.

“If it makes you feel better, you probably stopped them getting most of it,” Flash said.

“It’s fifty-fifty on that.”

“I’ve got to run. Till next time, Vibe.”

“Great,” Cisco said. Flash vanished in a swirl of lightning, and Cisco breached into S.T.A.R. Labs to drop his costume off.

“So, the Flash was hitting on you again,” Shawna said.

“Why are you here? It’s Sunday.”

“The people in the Pipeline still need food.”

“We really need to do something about that.”

“Yeah. He’s cute.”

“He’s a criminal,” Cisco said.

“And you let him get away.”

“I didn’t let him get away; he ran away with his superspeed.”

“We both know your blasts are the only thing that can stop him, Cisco.”

“At least they try and avoid hurting people. It’s a nice change from literally every other metahuman we fight. I’ll catch him next time.”

“Maybe,” Shawna said. “When was the last time you had a date?”

“Please stop.”


	16. Day 25: Word Prompt- Flowers

Hartley clutched the flowers tight. Ronnie had already had a memorial after the accelerator. If she was anywhere, that’s where she’d be.

Caitlin’s hair was still white, and her eyes and lips icy blue. Frost clung onto her cheeks in tear trails.

Hartley rested the flowers by Ronnie’s name and stood next to Caitlin.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Caitlin signed slowly. “I don’t blame you.”

“You should,” Hartley signed. “I didn’t say anything about the Pipeline sooner. We all assumed that Iron Heights wouldn’t be able to do anything, as opposed to helping design something so Iron Heights could do something.”

“No one believed in metahumans six months ago. It’s only because of Vibe.” She stumbled over a few of the letters. “How’s Lily?”

Hartley frowned.

“She was connected to Ronnie. She must be hurting.”

“Yes. I think she is. I am so sorry, Caitlin.”

“They escaped. The other metahumans.”

“But Ronnie saved them from Eiling. He saved us all.”

“Eiling will keep looking. Bette told me everything she knows about him. And you will have to help Vibe deal with escaped dangerous criminals.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Hartley signed. “But if you’re with Sergeant Sans Souci, you won’t be alone. If you do need help, Shawna and I are still your friends.”

“After everything I’ve done…” Caitlin gestured meaninglessly and dropped her hands back down.

“You still came to help when we needed you. We’re here when you need us. Please be careful.”

“I will. Please find an alternative for that Pipeline.”

“I’ll talk to Doctor Wells. Figure something out. I promise.”


	17. Day 5: Word Prompt- Sound

A break would be good. Lily had a new Firestorm partner now, Jax, he was nice. They’d flown off together to try and figure stuff out, and to avoid Eiling if he came back.

Hartley was working on looking for Doctor Snow. She might be a supervillain now (or perhaps anti-hero was more accurate, she had tried to help them save people), but she had been his friend once, and she’d lost her husband again. They still hadn’t found out exactly who this C.A.D.M.U.S. Eiling had mentioned was, but they’d taken Ronnie again.

And then Iris said Patty was getting suspicious. Probably not great for them.

Their boss’ house was also probably not the best place to be discussing any of this, but also, Joe was out, and Iris was babysitting her little sister.

“Maybe you should have asked Wally?” Shawna asked.

“He’s on a late shift,” Iris said. “Jenna’s already in bed, and Dad won’t mind, as long as he doesn’t find out the three of you are here discussing Vibe stuff.”

“Where is Joe?” Cisco asked.

“Date night with Cecile,” Iris said. “It’s their anniversary.”

“How sweet,” Hartley said. “Maybe tomorrow we could stop-”

“If you’re looking for an excuse to come to the station and flirt with David again, we can do lunch,” Iris said.

“I could do lunch.”

“Isn’t David Wally’s boss?” Cisco asked.

“He’s nice,” Iris said.

“I’m staying out of it,” Shawna said. “This was more Caitlin’s thing anyway. Have you…”

“No,” Hartley said. “But that could be good. We know she was with Bette.”

“And that they were going after Eiling, so maybe-”

“They’ll be okay,” Cisco said.

A noise came from the kitchen, followed by two hushed whispers. Iris jumped to her feet and grabbed a book. Cisco, Hartley, and Shawna all followed her to the kitchen, even if she probably didn’t want them too. Cisco had actual superpowers, that was helpful.

The back door was open, and two people were standing there. One was identical to Flash, but there was no look of recognition, which meant-

“John,” Hartley said.

“Doctor Baez?” John asked.

“Cobalt,” Shawna said. He stepped forward and Cisco shot a vibe blast.

“Don’t touch her.”

“Vibe?” he asked.

“Malcolm?” Iris asked. “What the hell?”

“Wait,” Cisco said. “You know him?”

“You know Vibe?” Cobalt Blue asked.

“What do you want?” Iris asked.

“I need to talk to Joe.”

“No.”

“It’s important.”

“He’s not here. You just broke in when my ten-year-old sister is asleep upstairs, get out of my father’s house.”

“Iris, please.”

“You’re a criminal, Malcolm. If Henry and Nora-”

“Barry’s in trouble!” he blurted out. Iris stepped back. “Please, just listen, Barry is in trouble. You know I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important.”

“Iris,” Cisco said.

“Fine,” Iris said. “You can come in, but only into the kitchen, and you prove you mean it first.”

“My real name is Edward Thawne,” John said. “Does that prove anything?”

“It doesn’t help his case.”

“Eddie’s not like them,” Malcolm said. “He helped us escape.”

“You could have come home.”

“That’s the first place they would look. It was, wasn’t it?”

“Second. They went to Iron Heights first. Where’s Barry?”

“I don’t know. The Santinis aren’t happy Vibe keeps stopping us.”

“You’re working for the Santinis?”

“Barry was in a coma. His heart kept stopping. We were desperate. They said they’d take care of it, if we helped them. I didn’t have a choice.”

“You did.”

“Not one with better options. Barry went to a drag race last night. He can mix them the things they want for their cars, and they give him something. Normally we stick together, but he was expecting trouble and made us wait. And then he never came back. Something happened to him, I know it did.”

“We’ll find him,” Cisco said. Hartley, Shawna, Iris, Malcolm, and Eddie all looked at him. “I can vibe him and find him. Just give me a few minutes.”

* * *

It was easy to vibe Flash. Malcolm offered his hand before Cisco even finished his sentence explaining what he had to do, and clearly Flash was all he was thinking about. All Cisco had to do was stop into S.T.A.R. Labs to grab his suit, and then breach into the empty bank.

Flash was standing in the vault, not in costume, holding a bag. He didn’t even blink when Cisco appeared.

“Barry,” Cisco said. “You’re worrying your brother.”

Flash sighed.

“Take him to Coast City,” he said.

“Why?” Cisco asked.

“It’s far away.”

A noise Cisco did not want to hear came from behind him.

“Bartholomew, dear, fill the bag up.”

“Yes, Mother,” Barry said. He picked up everything in arms’ reach, but he didn’t use his powers.

Something cold pressed into the back of Cisco’s head.

“How should we deal with this interruption, Bartholomew?”

Cisco kicked his leg out and opened a breach to fall into before she could do anything else. He crashed back into Joe’s kitchen.

“You didn’t find him,” Malcolm said.

“He’s with your mother,” Cisco said.

“No, he can’t be. Eddie, he can’t be, he can’t-”

“It’s okay,” Eddie said. “It’s all right. Breathe.”

“Did you see how?” Iris asked. “Or where? We’ll find out who did it, Mal.”

“I’m pretty sure he did?” Cisco said. “They were in a bank.”

“They?” Iris asked. “Nora’s dead, Cisco. She’s been dead for fifteen years.”

“He means Charlene,” Malcolm said.

“He called her mother,” Cisco said.

“She’s not. She just adopted us after our mother died.”

“She’s my aunt,” Eddie said. “She’s married to my father’s younger brother.”

“Thaddeus Thawne,” Hartley said. “I knew I recognised the name. He owns stock in S.T.A.R. Labs. That’s why you couldn’t come to us for help, they’d find you, you’ve been running away from them.”

“And they found him.”

“I’ll get him out,” Cisco said. “Trust me.”


	18. Day 21: Word Prompt- Hope

“You could have run,” Cisco said. Barry smiled at him through the glass. “Why didn’t you?”

“You think I should have avoided this?”

“Yes. You didn’t have a choice. They threatened Eddie.”

“And that’s been reflected on my sentence. I did still help them rob two banks and attempt to steal some diamonds, and before. Besides, this way I got to testify about all of it. Everything they did from the first day they met us.”

“I know Eddie’s father owns part of S.T.A.R. Labs. There’s something else you’re not saying still, isn’t there?”

“Yes. But you won’t believe me.”

“You sound so sure.”

“No one believes me. You won’t be any different. Besides, I don’t want you to get into trouble. Joe’s going to come see me tomorrow, he said. I’m going to tell him everything I know about the Santinis.”

“How do you know him? Iris and Malcolm didn’t explain.”

“Iris was my best friend at school,” Barry shrugged. “We stayed with Joe after my mother was murdered. He fostered us. We were supposed to stay with him indefinitely, but Charlene and Hugo showed up with their piece of paper.”

“Maybe he’ll help you. We could start an appeal-”

“My father’s in here, Cisco. My real father. I haven’t seen him for a very long time. Maybe it’ll only be a few months, but I’ve missed him so much.”

“I’m sorry,” Cisco said. “You let yourself get arrested and want to stay in prison so that you can spend some time with your father?”

“He’s my dad. I love him. Even after we’d run away, I was too scared to come and see him. I thought someone would be waiting for us here. I’m not scared anymore.”

“Hugo and Charlene won’t be a problem ever again.”

“It’s not just them. But it doesn’t matter. You’re here.”

“Are you flirting with me again?”

“You saved me. You didn’t have to do that.”

“You needed help.”

“I did.”

“And if you need help again, I’ll find you again.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know. But I will. And I’ll keep visiting you too. You never know. I might even believe you.”

“It sounds impossible,” Barry said.

“The impossible happens in Central City every day,” Cisco said. “I guarantee you three impossible things will have happened tomorrow before lunch.”

“Well, maybe I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Barry said.

“I hope so. You’ll be careful, won’t you? Shawna wanted me to remind you about your hypoglycaemia.”

“I’ll be fine,” Barry said.


	19. Day 9: Trope Prompt- Time Travel

Eddie woke up on a roof. He jumped to his feet and only relaxed when he saw Malcolm next to him. They were already missing Barry; he couldn’t lose Mal too.

They weren’t alone either. He didn’t recognise any of the others, but they all looked just as confused as him. The only one who didn’t was the woman in the long brown coat.

“Apologies,” she said. “My name is Captain Miranda Coburn, I’m from the future.”

“That’s a hell of a way to start an introduction,” a blonde woman said. “Hey, Ray.”

“Hi, Sara. I’m really glad you’re alive again.”

“Thanks, you too.”

“Oh, I wasn’t dead, just shrunk and stuck.”

“What the fuck,” Mal said.

“Why is Cobalt Blue here?” a woman asked.

“Because I need your help,” Captain Coburn said. “In the future, you’re all heroes. Legends.”

Malcolm burst out laughing.

“That’s not really our thing,” Eddie said.

“It will be,” she said. The city caught fire behind her, and Mal immediately stopped. “This is just a projection of the future.”

“How soon in the future?” Mal asked.

“A hundred years from now, when Vandal Savage has taken over the planet.”

“That’s impossible,” the last woman said. “He’s dead.”

“I was dead,” Sara said. “You two have died and come back over two hundred times, right?”

“It’s in over a hundred years, what’s it got to do with us?” Mal asked.

“I have a mission,” Captain Coburn said. “And a time machine. I’m going to stop it happening, but I need your help.”

“You do know he’s a criminal and he’s tried to kill Vibe, right?” the woman who’d asked why they were here before said.

“I haven’t tried to kill him,” Mal said. “I’ve fought him; I’ve never tried to kill him. My brother doesn’t like killing.”

“Your brother has a crush,” the guy standing next to her said. Eddie put his hand on Mal’s shoulder before he burst. “Where’d you get a time machine?”

“I work for some people called the Time Masters.”

“And they gave you the mission too. To save the world.”

“Actually, they explicitly forbade me from doing this, in much the same way as they forbade relationships.”

“Oh, so we’re breaking the rules, we can do that,” Mal said.

“This is about a person,” Ray said.

“Savage killed my husband and my son. I was too late. Incredibly ironic for a time traveller. But if I can stop him, if you help me stop him, I might be able to save them. And the millions of others he’s killed. Please. I’ll meet you at this address in twenty-four hours if you agree.”

She handed Malcolm a card.

* * *

“What do you think?” Eddie asked.

“We should go.”

“You want to leave Central?”

“Barry’s in Iron Heights. He’s with Dad. He trusts Vibe enough to keep him safe from Eobard. And it’s a time machine.”

“This is nothing to do with that Savage guy.”

“No. We can save her. If we can save her, none of this happens. And she’ll be alive.”

“Does it work that way?”

“Captain Coburn wants to change time, so it must be possible. We don’t need to save Barry from Iron Heights if he never goes in the first place.”

“And you want your mother back.” Eddie nodded. “I understand, Malcolm, of course you want her back. You’d have her, your father, and Barry. That’s what you’ve always wanted.”

“You’re my cousin. We’d find a way to get you there too. Maybe if you leave my parents can adopt you?”

“I don’t think my father would like that much. And we’re more like second cousins by marriage, and you admitted that your mother had never mentioned Aunt Charlene, let alone visited her.”

“We can think of something. We’ll have a time machine; we’ll just do our own fiddling. We can think of something.”

“All right. I’m in.”

“Even though-”

“You’re my cousin. Barry’s my cousin. Obviously, I’m going to help the both of you. I don’t know how we’re going to do it. But I’m in.”

* * *

Everyone from the roof was gathered at the address Captain Coburn had given them. The woman who’d disagreed with them being there seemed unsure, but she frowned when she saw them.

“You two actually showed up?”

“We’re going to steal the Mona Lisa,” Mal shot back. “That’s all.”

“Captain Coburn did mention crime. Hi, I’m Ray Palmer. What happens if you do steal the Mona Lisa? Because it’s famous, so you wouldn’t be able to sell it, but if you stole it before it was famous it wouldn’t have a value, but then why would you steal it, so it would never have happened, so-”

“See,” the woman said. “Paradox, we don’t even know that this is possible.”

“Except if Vibe can see the future but then use that to change it, it must be possible to change time,” the guy she was with said.

“Oh, it’s possible,” Captain Coburn said. “It’s just difficult. Time wants to happen, and any changes have repercussions later. You have to find the balance. But your theories are well known within the Time Masters, Doctor Stein.”

“So, you’re here because you understand time travel,” Sara said.

“That’s all we’d like to say in front of them.”

“Who are you?”

“Jax Jackson. I’m Lily’s… Partner.”

“Science partner,” Doctor Stein said. “We’re science partners.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I guess Kendra and I are here because Savage has killed us over two hundred times?”

“Correct, Mister Hall,” Captain Coburn said. “The three of you are connected.”

“I’m going to connect his face with my fist this time,” Kendra muttered.

“Well, if that’s everyone introduced, we should be off,” Captain Coburn said. A metallic spaceship appeared behind them.

Barry would love to see that.

“Welcome to the _Waverider_,” Captain Coburn said.


	20. Day 29: Trope Prompt- Height Difference

Barry had grown. Last time Joe had seen him, he’d been shorter than Iris, just a little boy. Now…

Now, there was a lanky man in front of Joe. Hair unkempt, dark shadows under his eyes, slight scruff on his chin, and too skinny.

“Captain West,” Barry said when Joe sat across the table from him. “Thank you for coming.”

“You know you can call me Joe, Barry. The Warden said you wanted to talk to me?”

“I want to be helpful.”

“Helpful.”

“I guess you know about the drag racing, and the Santinis. Mal just wanted to help me, it wasn’t his-”

“Barry. We don’t know where Malcolm is. You telling me everything won’t get him out of trouble, if that’s what you’re hoping.”

“I know. I, um, I did want to come home. We both did. But we couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“They’d find us.”

“Do you remember what you told me years ago? About what you saw that night?”

“I can’t.”

“I’ve been talking to Henry. For years. Something happened. I don’t know what, but you saw something that night, and I need to-”

“No, I remember, I mean I can’t tell you.”

“I promise I’ll believe you. We’ve got a guy who shoots blasts of light out of his hand, and there’s a woman from another planet who flies around National City helping out, and whatever’s going on in Gotham, and-”

“I can’t tell you. I know what happened. I know exactly who did it. He’s told me, hundreds of times, he rubs it in, he says he took my mother and my future from me, that his meddling changed my destiny, changed everything, but I can’t tell you his name. I can’t tell you anything else about him. He’s too dangerous.”

“You know his name?”

“I know everything. The first night he showed up again, Mal and I ran away. We were going to come and find you, tell you everything, but he caught us. He promised a lot of things if I told you his name. I can’t tell you, Joe.”

“I don’t want to say you’re safe here, but-”

“It’s not me I’m worried about. Please, Joe. Ask me anything else.”

“All right. Something else.”

* * *

“It was one of the Thawnes,” Joe said. Cecile nodded. “It has to be. Barry said the first time he showed up, he and Malcolm ran away but were caught, so it was back when they were first with Hugo and Charlene Thawne.”

“But it couldn’t be either of them,” Cecile said. “They’re both in custody. He has no reason to think they’d even know he’s been talking to you, let alone told you about what they did.”

“Someone they’re connected to, then. Barry described a man in lightning, maybe there was more than one person?”

“But why? What motive was there?”

“He said something else too. Barry. He said the person who did it, he rubbed it in, he said to Barry that he took his mother and his future, that he changed his destiny.”

“You don’t think it was about Nora, do you?”

“I don’t understand what argument whoever did this could possibly have with an eleven-year-old boy. But they certainly turned it into that. And Barry is still scared that they’re still watching him.”

“You’re worried about him.”

“I should have fought harder. Henry didn’t even know these people, we found out they were lying, I should have fought harder.”

“You did your best. Barry clearly doesn’t blame you. And you had Iris to think about, and Wally not long after, you did your best.” Cecile stood on her tiptoes and Joe leaned down to kiss her. “You can help him now. Find out the truth.”

“I don’t think Barry’s going to be much help with that.”

“Then don’t ask Barry. You’re the best captain C.C.P.D. has, if anyone can solve this, it’s you.”

“I might need some help.”

“Where are we starting, partner?”


	21. Day 11: Trope Prompt- Whump

Cisco really, really wished he had a healing factor. A healing factor would be so great.

Mark Mardon tossed another hailstone. James Jesse was still laughing, and Cisco was really not looking forward to it being his turn.

He was going to be limping for at least the next week, and there was no way his parents weren’t going to notice this. The only upside was that he had already booked the week of Christmas off work so no one there would be asking questions.

He could see the future, he could see the past, he could talk to people through his vibes, he could shoot energy blasts out his hands, he could vibrate between dimensions, he could open breaches to jump anywhere on the planet, and he didn’t show up on camera because of his vibrations, and right now Cisco was willing to trade all of that for ten minutes of accelerated healing.

The next hailstone hit him, and Cisco groaned. That one was going to leave a big bruise.

Of course, it would only bruise if Mardon left him alive, and he was not planning on doing that. All Cisco had done was vibe his tidal wave plan almost a year ago and stop him, he was pretty sure that did not warrant breaking James Jesse out of Iron Heights and teaming up with him to do this to Cisco. And he couldn’t even fight back because Mardon had planted bombs. His hands were itching from vibe blasts he wanted to throw out, every bone in his body was screaming for him to try and defend himself, and Cisco pushed it all down and let Mardon throw another hailstone at him.

He was pretty sure his arm was broken.

“Vibe, it’s all clear,” Hartley’s voice said in Cisco’s ear. Awesome. What did that mean?

Oh right.

Cisco threw out two vibe blasts and knocked Mardon and Jesse to the floor. He didn’t bother trying to move.

“Mark Mardon, you’re under arrest!” Iris said. Cisco lifted his head enough to see Patty fire the Boot at Mardon. He didn’t think he’d ever been so happy to see their faces.

“West,” Mardon said. “Clyde’s still in Iron Heights thanks to you.”

“And you’re about to join him,” Iris said. “Read him his rights, Patty, I’ll deal with Jesse.”

If Iris had this handled, that was great. That left Cisco free to pass out.

* * *

He woke up in S.T.A.R. Labs. Shawna, Hartley, Iris, and Doctor Wells were all around his bed. Cisco nodded.

“Hey, gang.”

“You’re alive,” Shawna said. She hugged him and Cisco tried not to wince. “Don’t do that again.”

“How bad is it?”

“A fractured wrist, and a lot of bruising,” Shawna said. “And probably a concussion. It could be a lot worse.”

“Sounds like bed rest for the next few weeks, Mister Ramon,” Doctor Wells said.

“My mother’s going to kill me,” Cisco said. “Guess I fell down the stairs again.”

“I need to talk to you,” Iris said. Cisco frowned. “Could we have the room a minute?”

“Come on,” Hartley said. He, Shawna, and Doctor Wells left.

“You can’t keep doing this,” Iris said.

“There is no one else. I have superpowers, Iris, and the bad guys have superpowers, and you’re amazing, but you don’t, you need me.”

“What?”

“I’m going to carry on being Vibe.”

“Great. I meant you should stop lying to your parents.”

“You say while lying to your father.”

“Yes. Because it could get my father in trouble. But what if Doctor Wells, Hartley and Shawna hadn’t been able to stop those bombs?”

“Then I would have to hope you got there in time. Which you did.”

“Cisco, you could have died tonight. Is that really how you want Santino and Rosita to find out?”

“They’ll worry.”

“I know. I worry about you. But just think about it? Maybe?”

* * *

Maybe Iris had a point. Cisco did still have his arm in a sling and his parents were expecting him by eleven. There was no way he’d be able to do anything without the sling just yet.

They’d worry about him. They’d worry so much.

But it was unlikely Mark Mardon was a one-off thing. And he still hadn’t developed a healing factor.

Plus, there was his black eye. Even if he could take the sling off, he couldn’t cover that up easily. Mardon really had no consideration for attempting to hide things from his parents.

His mother opened the door when Cisco looked and immediately threw her arms around him and sobbed.

“Oh, mijo.”

“Jesus Christ,” Dante said. Cisco’s dad coughed. “I mean oh no what happened Cisco, sorry Dad.”

Yeah, Iris was right.

“I have to tell you something,” Cisco said. “Mama, can we sit down first?”

Cisco’s mother gently pulled him into the sitting room and sat next to him. She held Cisco’s non-bandaged arm.

“Who did this to you?” Cisco’s dad asked.

“Mark Mardon,” Cisco said.

“The Weather Wizard?” Dante asked. “What’d he want with you?”

“I am friends with Iris, who he really hates.”

“Francisco,” Cisco’s dad said.

“I should have told you this ages ago, but I didn’t want you to worry about me. I’m Vibe. The particle accelerator gave me superpowers. Unfortunately, none of them are healing. So, um, that’s what’s been going on.”

“You’re Vibe,” Cisco’s mother said.

“Surprise?”

* * *

Cisco was a little surprised by how well his parents had taken it. Oh, they’d yelled at him for an hour, but he’d been expecting at least three. And his dad had said he was proud when Cisco left.

And there was a sound coming from a bank. Cisco looked down at his arm, then at the source of the sound.

“All right,” he said.

* * *

He jumped in through a breach and found Leonard Snart on the floor in handcuffs.

“What’s up with your arm?” Snart asked.

“Do you not watch the news?” Cisco asked. “What happened to you?”

Snart nodded and Cisco looked over at the door. A woman was standing there, in a blue shirt with a black jacket, black leggings, blonde hair, and a mask. There was a yellow bird sewn onto the back of her jacket, and she winked at Cisco, then disappeared out the door.

“Wait!” Cisco yelled. He ran outside after her, but it was too dark to see. Sirens were approaching.

An arm pulled him into an alley.

“Vibe.”

“You’re the Black Canary. Holy cow, you’re the Black Canary.”

“And you’re Vibe.”

“I can’t believe you’re in Central, it’s amazing to meet you, I am so honoured.”

She laughed a little, a little bashful smile on her face.

“Seriously, you are the coolest ever,” Cisco said. “What are you doing in Central?”

“Visiting my mother. Sparrow’s going to be jealous I met you before she did.”

“Jealous you met _me_?”

“It’s not every day you meet Vibe. I take it looking for the nearest robbery isn’t the normal way to meet you.”

“Err, I don’t know what I should and shouldn’t say.”

“Good answer. Here.” She held out a card. “My number.”

“Wait, what?”

“Just in case.”

“This is a phone number.”

“Yes. For me. It’s not my personal one, but it is a phone number so if you ever need me, you can call.”

“Are you serious?”

“I have a feeling it might come in useful. Take care of that arm.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cisco said. She waved and left. “What a week.”


	22. Day 7: Word Prompt- Sports

Cisco didn't know what to do. First Doctor Wells, now Barry...

Barry wouldn't have run away. He could have. He easily could have. But he'd told Cisco he wanted to be in Iron Heights. He wanted to finally see his dad again. He wouldn't have run away, and Henry was sure of that too.

And Doctor Wells, his wheelchair had been left behind, and his glasses. But Iris and Patty had been on the scene, Cisco had been called in to look at the tech stuff, there hadn't been any sign of a struggle.

He was paralysed, how much of a struggle could there be? Cisco asked. Maybe it was Eiling back again, or-

Or maybe there was something else going on, the niggling doubt in the back of Cisco's mind whispered.

"Come on," Iris said.

"What?" Cisco asked.

"C.C.P.D. versus C.C.F.D. charity softball starts in an hour, and we should really go down there in the normal way."

"Is now the time?"

"Do you want to explain to Captain West why you're not there?" Patty asked. "You did say you would.”

“Fine,” Cisco said.

* * *

Patty was batting. She was good at it.

And Iris slid in next to Cisco.

“We could tell Dad.”

“I thought you didn’t want him involved.”

“I didn’t. I thought it could cause problems for him. But you do know Dad was ready to foster Barry and Mal. He would have adopted them, but they had Henry and he didn’t want them to feel like he was taking them away from Henry, even if Dad wasn’t convinced by Barry’s story. It might have been a long time, but Dad’s still going to care about them.”

“He could help.”

“What’s Jonesy doing?”

“What?”

Cisco looked up. Officer Jones was walking across the pitch, holding a rucksack, holding-

“Get down!” Cisco shouted, just as a flash of lightning grabbed the rucksack and threw it in the air. “Barry?” he whispered.

People were surrounding Jonesy. No one noticed the streak ducking behind a stand, a hood pulled up over his face. Cisco grabbed Iris’ hand and breached.

He was still vibrating with lightning clinging to his edges.

“Holy cow,” a woman said. “Vibe, you’re here. I need to talk to you.”

“One second,” Cisco said. “Barry, calm down. Deep breaths.”

The blur managed to stop, but it wasn’t Barry standing in front of Cisco with a burning shirt and smoking shoes.

“Cisco?” Wally West asked. “What the fuck is going on?”

* * *

“As near as I can tell, when Becky Sharpe accidentally set the accelerator off again a few weeks ago, it created a second set of metahumans,” Shawna said. “Wally must have been affected the same way as Barry.”

S.T.A.R. Labs had been Iris’ first destination when Wally had revealed himself. Along with Linda and her friend Ralph, and Cisco was probably going to regret breaching in front of a journalist in the near future. At least Wally had stopped vibrating.

“But how?” Iris asked. “Barry got struck by lightning.”

“He also had chemicals spill on him he was using to create nitrous for some drag racers,” Cisco said.

“Oh,” Wally said. “Becky Sharpe was the bad luck person, right? I was trying to measure out some nitric acid and it split on my shirt, and then the fire alarm went off while I was washing it off, and we all had to go outside in the thunderstorm, and there was this bolt of lightning and I flew backwards, but I felt fine afterwards so I thought it missed me.”

“Wally, why would you not mention that to anyone?” Iris asked, her face in her hand.

“Everyone seemed busy."

Iris looked at him in disbelief, and a little exasperation.

“Kind of feel like you should have told someone that, Junior.”

“What are you even doing here, Dibny?” Wally asked.

“You two know each other?” Hartley asked.

“Ralph Dibny, P.I.,” Linda’s lanky friend introduced himself. “I can also do this.” He stretched his arms out to the other side of the room.

“Isn’t that the thing DeVoe was talking about?” Shawna asked.

“Who’s DeVoe?” Ralph asked.

“Long story,” Cisco said. “And you’re Linda.”

“Linda Park, Central City Picture News,” she introduced herself. “I’m an investigative reporter.” Ralph made a noise. “I’m the sports reporter, but I’m writing and investigative piece on Harrison Wells. He’s not who he says he is.”

“He’s missing,” Hartley said.

“Listen to her,” Ralph said. “She’s good at this.”

“Mason Bridge is missing,” Linda said. “He’s one of the crime reporters, his desk is next to mine, he vanished the day before police cars were spotted outside Harrison Wells’ home. I also know Mason was working on a piece on Wells. His computer files were deleted, I’ve been piecing together what I can from what’s left of his paper trail. That’s how I met Ralph.”

“Mister Bridge hired me to keep an eye on Wells when he couldn’t,” Ralph said. “He’s very good at shaking a tail. But I have photographic evidence he’s lying about his paralysis. And that he’s like the Flash.”

“No,” Shawna said. “That’s impossible.”

“Here.” Ralph offered Cisco some photographs. Doctor Wells standing, then no one, just a blur as if something bright had just been there. “I know it’s hard to see. Hard to believe.”

“Impossible to believe,” Shawna said.

“The man in yellow,” Iris said.

“The what?” Hartley asked.

“That’s who killed Nora Allen. Barry said he saw a man in a yellow suit surrounded by lightning, and then he was outside. No one believed him before, he was just a boy, and it was impossible.”

“But that could explain why they hate Doctor Wells,” Hartley said.

“You can’t possibly believe this,” Shawna said.

“I don’t know,” Hartley said. “But I think Cisco’s right. I think somewhere Barry is in a lot of trouble.”


	23. Day 23: Word Prompt- Death

Eddie hadn't let go of baby Malcolm yet. His eyes looked red. Sara sighed and walked over to him. Now the Time Masters were gone, they could return their younger selves to the correct place in the timeline. She'd been tempted to tell herself not to get on the Queen's Gambit, but just for a moment. She could understand Eddie's reluctance. When she'd met him, she'd assumed he was just a criminal and only cared about himself, but somewhere in there was that short, fat, bubbly little boy who'd laughed at everything and fawned over baby Lily, Jax, and Malcolm. Maybe buried deep down, but he was there somewhere.

"I'm sorry," Sara said. She rested her hand on Eddie's shoulder. "We have to put him back."

"I know," Eddie said. Sara opened the door and Eddie carried Malcolm into the room. His aunt was holding another baby.

"Doctor Gilmore's finished his tests already?" Eddie's uncle asked. Eddie smiled.

"One healthy, happy, baby boy," Eddie said. "Congratulations Mrs Allen, Doctor Allen." Eddie passed Malcolm to Doctor Allen and baby Barry sniffled.

"I think he wants to see his brother," Mrs Allen said. Doctor Allen sat in the chair and helped Mrs Allen adjust Barry so she could hold both of them. "Look, Barry, he's fine, see?"

"Maybe try and be on time next time, kiddo," Doctor Allen smiled. "Thank you."

"That's what we're here for," Sara said. "Congratulations."

* * *

Eddie paused on the way out. A man and a woman seemed upset, and a doctor was arguing outside arguing with a midwife.

"What is it?" Sara asked.

"That's my aunt and my uncle," Eddie said.

"Did we give Malcolm to the wrong people?"

"No, we gave him to his parents. Malcolm and Barry are adopted. They said Aunt Charlene was Nora Allen's cousin, that's why they got sent to live with her when their mother died. They shouldn't be here. Aunt Charlene said she'd never actually met Nora or Henry. Old Barry said he didn't have a brother."

"Old Barry?"

"We tried to save Nora. It didn't work. It was a speedster. But Barry was there, Barry from the future, but not our future. He said he didn't have his Malcolm, but he did know Cobalt Blue, he'd tried to kill him before."

"Which means what?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I promised to help. Malcolm, before he- Before the Occulus. When he knew you were safe. He asked me to look after you and Barry. I said I would."

"I don't know how to tell Barry."

"We can take some time. Think about the best way."

Eddie nodded.

* * *

Malcolm sat up. His head was throbbing.

He didn't recognise the room. He wasn't even sure how he'd survived. The Occulus should have destroyed everything and killed him. He shouldn't be alive.

Maybe he wasn't.

Except.

There was something blue in the room, around a figure curled up as small as he could make himself. Malcolm rushed over, stumbling to his feet, and collapsed against the wall. Electricity ran through him and pushed him back.

The figure looked up.

"Mal!" Barry said.

"I'm going to get you out of there," Malcolm said. "Barry, stay away from the wall, I'm going to get you out."

"It's a force field, Malcolm," a familiar voice sighed. Eobard Thawne was standing there. He'd forgone his wheelchair, and his glasses. "Barry can't phase through, and you can't break it."

"Let him go," Malcolm said.

"Now, now, _Grandfather_," Eobard sneered. "I think we have a lot to talk about, don't you?"


	24. Day 4: Trope Prompt- Road Trip

Mari touched the amulet around her neck. She had a sister. A family. She came from somewhere, and this amulet was the key to finding out where.

She’d wondered before. She’d always known she was adopted; Patty and Chuck had never hidden that. But they had never had the answers and Mari assumed she’d never find them, so she’d stopped asking questions.

But this amulet was so much more than a trinket from a past she couldn’t remember. The past few days had shown that.

And she had to understand. She just didn’t know where to start.

And then Hank and Nate Heywood had walked into her life and made themselves at home.

“Hank, can you pass my leg?” Nate asked without looking up from his book.

“I’m driving,” Hank said. “Use a bookmark.”

Henry Heywood III and Nathaniel Heywood were half-brothers, and they could turn their skin into steel. Something to do with their grandfather, Henry Heywood I, who’d used the name Commander Steel back when he was in the J.S.A. during World War Two.

He’d fought alongside a woman known as Vixen, who’d worn an amulet like Mari’s. Nate had studied the J.S.A. for years and found next to nothing, but Mari knew this woman was the key to unlocking at least some of the mysteries.

And so the three of them had taken to the road, heading towards Star City where Nate thought he might have a lead.

“I need more post its,” Nate said. “And for you to pull over.”

“Here,” Mari said. She reached across and passed Nate his prosthetic. “How do you need more already?”

“There’s a lot of information in here.”

“What are you researching this time?” Hank asked.

“This and that,” Nate said. “Service station.”

* * *

It took a few days for them to get to Star City with Mari and Hank alternating who was driving. Nate had spent most of it with his nose buried in various books, but Hank said that was normal Nate.

Between that, Mari kept trying to understand how to use her amulet, and Hank showed her what he and Nate could do. In his case, a little more than just turning his skin to steel.

“It’s complicated,” Hank said. “Mostly my grandfather wanted me to be like him. It’s one of the reasons I don’t talk about him.”

“I’m sorry,” Mari said.

“Some of it’s good. I’m strong, I’m fast, I’m practically indestructible. It hurts though.”

“How much does Nate have too?”

“Just his skin. That’s good though. Last time he got hurt playing football he lost his leg. He has haemophilia. He can’t get hurt if he’s invulnerable.”

“Still sucks though.”

“Yeah. You don’t know anything about that?”

“Just that I was found with it when I was a baby. Kuasa, she said she was my sister, she called it a totem, she said it could summon the ashe of animals, but that’s all I know. She’ll look for me again.”

“Nate and I will keep our eyes open.”

“Why Star City?”

“Just keep going down this road,” Nate pipped up. “There’s a gym at the end owned by Ted Grant.”

“Who?”

“Just trust me.”

And weirdly, maybe helped along by a few days in a car with just them, Mari already did.

* * *

The gym only had three people inside when they got there, an older man, and two women.

The man was already looking at Mari’s amulet. She reached her hand up instinctively.

“Hi,” the younger woman said. “Can we help you?”

“Hi,” Hank said. “I’m Hank Heywood, my brother Nate thinks-”

“You’re Henry’s grandsons,” the man said. “I’m Ted Grant.”

“Wildcat,” Nate nodded.

“Excuse me?” 

“They’re fine, Laurel,” Ted said. “Their grandfather was Commander Steel. And if you have that…”

“I’m Mari McCabe,” Mari said. “Hank and Nate thought I might find some answers here.”

“You look like Esi,” the other woman said. “I’m Dinah Lance. Kuasa found you.”

“You know her? My sister?”

“I met her briefly when she was very young. I never met you. But I was friends with your mother.”

“And you’re the original Black Canary,” Nate said. “Which means you’re the new Black Canary. You’re awesome by the way. You know the Legends.”

“The what?” Hank asked.

“The Legends,” Nate said. He held up his book. “You know, Hawkgirl, Firestorm, Canary, Captain Coburn, the Legends of Tomorrow. They’re not very good at subtle time travelling, and I’m a historian. They’re in trouble.”

“When are they?” Laurel asked.

“I have a list. I just need to work out where exactly they crashed the time machine. I think it’s New York, but the specifics I don’t know.”

“I’ll get Ray. You can come with me to New York.”

“Awesome,” Nate said. “Another road trip.”

“I can’t give you answers on the totem,” Dinah said. “But I can tell you more about Esi.”

“I’d like that,” Mari said. “Thank you.”


	25. Day 16: Trope Prompt- Soulmates

The Legends were interesting, to say the least. They’d unanimously voted for Captain Lance after they’d discovered Captain Coburn’s message. Captain Lance who had previously been trained by the League of Assassins and who had been good at that until they sent her after the Black Canary, who turned out to be her sister.

Mostly Mari had been spending her time with Zari, the bearer of the Air Totem from the future. Zari hadn’t had a lot of practise, she’d rejected the totem at first (Mari had seen what A.R.G.U.S. and C.A.D.M.U.S. were like in Zari’s time, she completely understood why), but her brother had picked it up instead then vanished, so Zari was determined to find a way to save him.

Eddie Thawne wasn’t optimistic about their chances. He mostly kept himself to himself. Mari had been told by Lily and Jax he was an ex-thief, that he’d fought Vibe, before he’d joined them along with his cousin. Mari assumed the lack of cousin was why he preferred his own company, and probably why he didn’t think there was a way to save Zari’s brother.

And then there was Doctor Lily Stein, expert in nanotechnology, and Jefferson Jackson, mechanic who had to drop out of collage after a knee injury cut his football career short. The two of them merged together to create the flaming hero, Firestorm, and even when they weren’t merged, they were linked.

As clearly evidenced by both of them rubbing their elbows at the same time before launching back into another discussion about something to do with Gideon and this compass thing.

“Which of them actually hit their elbow?” Zari asked.

“Lily, I think,” Mari said. “Do you believe in soulmates?”

“I have a soulmate,” Kendra Saunders, the last Legend (discounting Gideon), said.

“Really?” Zari asked.

“In this lifetime, his name is Carter Hall.”

“Lifetime?” Mari asked.

“We reincarnate,” Kendra said. “Our first lives he was Prince Khufu and I was Priestess Chay-Ara. We were lovers, until Hath-Set killed us. That’s how the cycle has gone for over two hundred lifetimes, we’re born, we find each other, he kills us.”

“But this lifetime is different?”

“Over time he became known as Vandal Savage. He was immortal and made stronger by taking the life essence from Carter and me. We stopped him. Not fast enough to save Miranda’s Rip and Jonas, but we stopped him destroying the world.”

“And now he’s gone, and you don’t know what to do,” Zari said.

“Sometimes we find each other, then emerge,” Kendra said. She extended her huge hawk wings to demonstrate. “Sometimes Carter will emerge then come looking for me, sometimes I emerge first and go looking for him. This time, I emerged first. I found Carter working in a coffee shop in Star City. Savage found us, and the Black Canary helped us stop him, but he came back. We joined the Legends to try and break this cycle.”

“Which you did,” Mari said.

“Carter was stranded for two years in the 1950s with Sara and our old teammate, Ray. They were close. Incredibly close. And without Savage, this life is different. We have a chance to live this time. Carter’s exploring his options with Ray and I decided to stay and finally learnt more about being Kendra Saunders, not Priestess Chay-Ara. He’s still my soulmate, I don’t know if we’ll still reincarnate without Savage, but if I do, he’ll be there. And I love him. But four thousand years is a long time with just two of you.”

“And there’s more to life than just running from someone,” Mari said. Kendra smiled at her.

Butterflies. Well, that might not be good.


	26. Day 17: Setting Prompt- Accidental Baby Aquisition

"Let me get this straight," Kara said. She pinched the bridge of her nose. At least Clark, Lucy, Lois, Alex, Jimmy, Lena, and Mon-El had the decency to look sheepish. "You broke into C.A.D.M.U.S."

"I-"

"What is the one thing I have always told you, Kal-El?"

"Stay away from C.A.D.U.S.," Clark said. "But-"

"No. No buts. They are dangerous."

"That's why we needed to rescue Christopher and Karen!"

The teenagers waved.

"Clark," Nia said. "Maybe stop bringing home every alien you find?"

"Mon-El was in a Kryptonian pod and looks like me, how was I supposed to know he's not my brother?"

"Because I would have mentioned it if you had a brother," Kara said. "He's from Daxam."

"We are sister planets though," Mon-El said. "We could be cousins."

"You were the prince of Daxam, we are not."

"But we could be."

"He's a Daxamite?" one of the teenagers asked.

"And you are?" Kara asked.

"Lor-Zod. But I like Christopher much more."

"General Zod never had children."

"He didn't before the Phantom Zone," Christopher said. "You know Fort Rozz had a breach?"

"Oh, Rao, at least Aunt Astra didn't let him out."

"Who's General Zod?" Lucy asked.

"Bad news. And you."

"They said I am Kara Zor-El," the second teenager said.

"C.A.D.M.U.S. have been working on cloning," Lena said. "Lex said he needed my help with the Harun-El."

"Lex came to find you?" Nia asked. "Lena, you should have said something."

"He said Father's sick."

"And he believes Harun-El can save him," Querl said. "You were able to stabilise Harun-El when Ms Lane absorbed it; you succeeded where he did not."

"Oh, Lena," Nia said. "We'll find another way. Cloning?”

"That does make sense," Kara said. "I do recognise my own face."

"Mrs Luthor said I am an improvement, to replace you," clone Kara said.

"Of course she did," Kara said. "Do you want something to eat? Clark, go get food, I need to call Eliza, J'onn, and Martha. And M'Gann."

"You're calling Ma?" Clark asked. "We didn't bring Lena and Lucy.”

"Great. But you brought home two more mouths to feed, so you can go and get food."

* * *

"We need a bigger place," Nia said.

"Why?" Kara asked.

"I calculate a 98% certainty you will adopt Christopher and Karen Danvers by tomorrow morning," Querl said.

"I will not," Kara said. "We already have Lucy, Lena, and Mon-El."

"Hence we need a bigger place," Nia said. "Besides, Lucy's mostly at Lois', it's only when Clark-" Nia stopped. "Actually, I'm not going to finish that sentence."

"Please don't," Kara said. "I already have Kal-El to look after. That's why I'm here."

"I know you don't want to admit it yet, but Clark is a grown-up. He's nineteen. Almost twenty. He can look after himself. That doesn't mean he doesn't need you. He loves you. But you can give him a little more space. Trust him."

"Perhaps the addition of two more kryptonians will help you find a purpose outside of caring for Clark," Querl said. "And as Karen shares your DNA, she is biologically your sister. Alex already considers her one.”

"We have to find the three world-killers," Kara said. "That's why you came back, isn't that your purpose?"

"Initially, yes, but that purpose changed when I met the two of you."

"Aww, Brainy, we love you too," Nia said.

"How am I supposed to raise children and save the world as Superwoman and carry on reporting?"

"You have us," Nia said. "You don't have to do any of it alone."

"She is an El," Kara said. "And he's a Zod."

"And I am a Brainiac," Querl said. "You didn't judge me for my ancestors. You acknowledge Mon-El is not his ancestors."

"I guess I'll ask M'Gann about faking adoption certificates again."

* * *

"And anyway," Kara said, six months later. "It's Nia and Brainy, they keep guilting me, Laurel."

"Right," Laurel said. "Of course."

"I mean, Sam's adoptive mother kicked her out when Sam found out she was pregnant, and Julia's nice, Grace is a bit too open to the destroying the planet idea but we can work with that, it's not their fault they were created to destroy. They're adults, sort of, not really, I'm just helping them learn to control their powers and Sam needed a place to stay, I'm just putting a roof over her head."

"I believe you."

"I need a bigger house.”

"Ollie's family mansion has it uses.”

"Why do I keep letting this happen?"


	27. Day 26: Trope Prompt- Wedding

Laurel smoothed her dress down. She couldn’t believe this. This had seemed impossible once upon a time.

“Hey,” Sara said. “You ready?”

“I’m ready,” Laurel said. “I’ve been ready for a long time.”

“Ollie’s waiting for you.”

* * *

The church looked beautiful. Flowers lined the pews, and Laurel’s dad offered his arm to walk her in. Music started up and Laurel could see Ollie bouncing on his heels, with Tommy next to him, trying to distract him.

Robert and Moira were sitting next to her mother, and Sara had slipped in next to Thea. Laurel walked up the aisle as the music played.

She stopped next to Ollie.

“You look incredible,” he said. “I’m the luckiest man on the planet.”

“Are we really doing this?”

“You did say yes.”

“I can’t believe your parents are actually letting us do this.”

“Why wouldn’t they? My parents love you.”

“What?”

Something was wrong. Something was really wrong.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness-”

This wasn’t right. Tommy was there smiling, but Laurel remembered burying him, and Robert was dead, and Roy-”

“Where’s Roy?” Laurel asked. “Ollie, where’s Roy?”

“Who?” Ollie asked.

“Roy,” Laurel said. “What about Emiko, Robbie, Connor, William, Felicity-”

“Laurel, what’s wrong?”

“Everything. I think this is.”

“What?”

“This can’t be real. I’m sorry.”

She ran.

“Laurel, wait!”

* * *

Sara found her outside an old gym. Laurel had no idea why she was there, or how she’d got there.

“Hey,” she said. “What happened back there?”

“I don’t know,” Laurel said. “This doesn’t feel right. You can feel it too, can’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sara said. “What is this place?”

“Somewhere important,” Laurel said. She pushed the door open and walked in.

The room was empty, but Laurel walked to the bookcase and pushed it back. She’d done this before. She’d done this a thousand times before.

“Laurel, wait!” Sara said.

There was a set of stairs, then a large room. Dusty costumes were on mannequins. That wasn’t right. They shouldn’t be dusty.

Two men were in the middle of the room, and they looked up when Laurel and Sara walked in.

“Hi. Who are you?”

“Who are you?” Laurel asked.

“Nate Heywood. This is my brother, Hank.”

“I’m Sara Lance, this is my sister, Laurel.”

“Lance? As in Dinah Lance? The Black Canary?”

That was it. That was what was wrong with this world. Everything flooded back.

“Exactly,” Laurel said. “What do you two remember about the Dominators?”

“The what now?” Nate asked.

“Mari called us,” Hank said slowly. “I remember Mari calling us and saying she was dropping by with a time machine.”

“Laurel, what’s going on?” Sara asked.

“I need to find Ollie right now, and then we need to find Hartley Rathaway, Ray Palmer, and Kate Kane.”

“They were all invited to your wedding. To Ollie. Which you just ran away from.”

“You ran away from your wedding?” Nate asked.

“We’ve been kidnapped by aliens and are trapped in some kind of dream state,” Laurel said. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah, okay.”

* * *

Ollie was at home, with Thea and his parents, and Laurel’s parents, Tommy, and Malcolm Merlyn. He stood up when she ran in.

“I’m really sorry,” Laurel said. “I’ll explain everything. Hank, can you go find Ray, I need to talk to Ollie in private.”

“Okay,” Ollie said. He stood up, ignoring Moira’s protests, and followed Laurel into a side room. “Who are they?”

“Hank and Nate Heywood, someone we know through the old J.S.A.”

“The what?”

“Do you remember the _Queen’s Gambit_?”

“Yeah, it sank, and Dad nearly died.”

“No. It sank, you and Sara were on it, you were trapped on an island for five years with your siblings Emiko and Robbie, Robert died on the island, and Sara became an assassin.”

“Are you okay? Is this stress? I really don’t know how to deal with stress. Should I call someone?”

“Ollie. Look at me. You know I’m telling you the truth. I love you. I will marry you. But can we do it not in a dream created by aliens who abducted us.”

“I am really worried about you.”

“We need to find Hartley Rathaway, Ray Palmer, and Kate Kane, Ollie. You can help me do that, can’t you?”

“Yes? Kate’s here with Bruce and his parents I think, I know where they’ll be.”

“Great. We’re sneaking out the window.”

“Why?”

“Just trust me. Please.”

“Always.”

* * *

Kate was sitting in a restaurant with Bruce, Bette, Thomas and Martha Wayne, and Talia Al Ghul. Laurel nodded.

“Ollie,” Kate said. “Ms Lance. Is everything all right?”

“Yes,” Laurel said. “Fine. I need your help. Maybe Bruce and Bette’s too.”

“That’s not the real Bette,” Talia said. “Kate and Bruce were with you, Bette was inside.”

“I take it that means you were there too,” Laurel said.

“Only because Bruce asked me to. I’m not joining your secret legion of superheroes.”

“Does your father know you’re here?”

“He’s still looking for Nyssa now she’s run after meeting your sister.”

“They’re not together anymore.”

“I know, but Nyssa’s still turned away from the League. I think that makes me his Heir now, but Bruce is very insistent I’m not like my father.”

“Good for you,” Laurel said.

“He is training another assassin specifically for you though, I believe she said her name was Sin? She’s very young.”

“I’ll deal with that later. Kate, Bruce, Batwoman, Robin, Batman, Bat-Girl, Flamebird, any of this ringing a bell?”

“What’s going on?” Bruce asked.

“Maggie,” Laurel said. Kate nodded.

“I see,” Kate said. “Would you excuse us a moment, Aunt Martha, Uncle Thomas, Bruce and I have to deal with something very quickly.”

“We do?” Bruce asked.

“Yes, we do. Come on.”

“Laurel,” Ollie said. “I think I remember the boat sinking. Was Thea-”

“No, she was inside with Roy and Emi. Come on, we have to find the Heywoods and Sara.”

* * *

Sara, Hank, and Nate had found both Ray and Hartley. Hartley waved.

“Hi,” he said. “You must be the Black Canary.”

“That’s me,” Laurel said. “We’re in-”

“A dream created by aliens, I know, I worked it out like ten seconds in when my parents were nice to me.” He paused. “Yeah. Any ideas how to get out?”

“Ow.” Vibe popped into existence next to Ollie. “Hartley, I found you!” He threw his arms out and went straight through Hartley. “Right, I can’t touch when I’m vibing even into dreams. The Dominators took you-”

“I know.”

“Great.” Vibe moved his hands as he spoke. “They also took Black Canary, Atom, Batwoman, Batman, Talia, Steel, and Canary? I think that’s right? Flamebird gave me a list because I do not know anyone’s names.”

“Are you some sort of ghost?” Bruce asked.

“No,” Vibe said. “Wait, aren’t you Bruce Wayne?”

“Vibe,” Laurel said. “We’ll do full introductions later, where are we?”

“Err, somewhere in space? Superwoman’s directing the _Waverider_, this is honestly the wildest thing that’s happened all year and I literally have superpowers and regularly get into fights with other people with superpowers. Hart, find a breach. And this is exhausting so I think I might be about to-”

Vibe vanished.

“That was weird,” Ray said. “Does he do that a lot?”

“With me,” Hartley said. “We can sign if he vibes.”

“Laurel, he didn’t say Ollie,” Sara said. “He didn’t say Ollie was with us.”

“Ollie’s right here,” Laurel said. “Right? You’re my Ollie?”

“Of course I’m your Ollie. Who else would I be?”

“It’s nice here,” Laurel said. “Your parents are here.”

“It is nice,” Ollie said. “And we can find Roy for you. We could stay here, happy-”

Laurel punched him in the face and knocked him out.

“That’s not my Ollie,” she said. “My Ollie would never suggest that, not when Connor and William are at home, and Emi and Robbie and Thea and Roy, and aliens are invading.”

“Which means you’re not Nate either,” Hank said.

“Who else would I be?” Nate asked. “This is ridiculous, Hank-”

“Yeah, we’re leaving,” Hank said. “Quick.”

They ran.

Malcolm Merlyn, Damien Darhk, Ra’s Al Ghul, Vandal Savage, a man in a hood with a gun, and several of the League’s assassins were outside.

“We have to wake up,” Kate said. “How do we do that?”

“Vibe said we find the breach,” Hartley said. “They’re what he uses to jump between points, the blue things? And it stands to reason the Dominators won’t want us to do that, so the harder they’re making it, the closer we’re getting.”

“I really hate that that makes the most sense,” Sara said.

* * *

They eventually made it to Queen Consolidated, a little worse for wear. A blue thing was in the doorway.

“That’s it,” Hartley said. “That’s a breach.”

“Everyone through,” Laurel said. “Quick.”

They jumped.

And Laurel opened her eyes. She pushed open the door of the pod thing she was in and stumbled out. Sara was there, and Laurel hugged her tight.

“Is everyone okay?” she asked. “Have we got everyone?”

“That’s everyone,” Kate said. An alarm sounded.

“That does not sound good,” Talia said.

“Not really,” Laurel said. A door flew off its hinges and hit the wall behind them. Vibe lowered his hand.

Then he laughed and he ran forwards with a woman and they threw their arms around Hartley.

“We found you,” the woman said, and signed.

“Shawna, what are you doing here?”

“It’s just space, unlike you, I have been developing superpowers since Becky Sharpe. The _Waverider _is this way.”

* * *

Ollie was there. Fighting aliens, but that was Ollie, that was her Ollie, the real one.

Laurel kissed him.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

Laurel got down on one knee.

“Marry me?”

“Yes.”

“Are you two doing this right now?” Sara asked. “Get a room.”

“We probably should wait until we’re not in front of aliens,” Ollie said.

“We can run away,” Laurel said.

“Sounds good to me.”

* * *

S.T.A.R. Labs was pretty much full. Vibe- Cisco- had offered it as a base, and he’d introduced Iris and Wally West, Linda Park, and Ralph Dibny as well as Hartley and Shawna. Nia, Brainy, Clark, Lucy, J’onn, Chris, Karen, and Mon-El had flown over to help Kara. Bruce and Bette were checking on Dick and Babs and Laurel made a note to introduce them to William. Talia had disappeared, but Laurel doubted she’d gone far. Sara was with her Legends, and Ray and Carter were catching up with Kendra, and Hank and Nate with Mari. Roy, Thea, Emi, Robbie, and Felicity were all huddled together, no doubt planning something, and Laurel could see Zatanna keeping a close eye on them.

“Hey,” Ollie said.

“Hey,” Laurel said.

“So.”

“That was the dream. Us getting married. Your parents were there, they liked me. Tommy was your best man. And I ran. But I didn’t want to.”

“So, spur of the moment,” Ollie said.

“Spur of the moment, but I did really mean it.”

“I would love to marry you. Not sure how I'm going to pick a best man.”

“We should deal with the alien invasion first.”

“We should.”

“So, Black Canary,” Kate said. “What are we doing?”

“Me?” Laurel asked.

“Yeah, you’re basically the boss,” Kara said.

“M’Gann gave you the information,” Laurel said.

“That’s because she has my number, it was Vibe who called you. You brought us together, Laurel.”

“Talia called us a legion of superheroes,” Kate said.

“That’s what Querl was part of in the future,” Kara said. “We could be the new Justice Society?”

“The Justice League,” Laurel said. She nodded, then clapped her hands. “All right, Justice League, listen up!” Everyone looked at her. What on Earth was she doing. “The Dominators wanted us for something, and we still don’t know what. But we do know there’s an alien invasion on the way and we’re here to protect the Earth, so. Anyone have any suggestions?”


	28. Day 27: Trope Prompt- Celebration

Laurel and Ollie were holding hands when they walked into Ted’s gym. They’d have to look for engagement rings in the morning. Start talking about wedding planning. They hadn’t talked about any of this before, what had Laurel been thinking, right in the middle of-

“Hey,” Ollie said. “We should go to dinner. A proper, nice, romantic dinner.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Do you think they’re in here?”

“I think they were whispering something while we were supposed to be stopping aliens, and then the four of them conveniently disappeared when they thought we wouldn’t notice, and when we couldn’t just sneak out.”

“And Felicity was trying to distract us.”

They walked into the J.S.A. headquarters, and a huge banner unfurled.

“Surprise!” Thea and Roy shouted. Laurel laughed.

“This is why you snuck off?”

“We had a party to plan,” Thea said. “And people to invite.”

Laurel smiled as she looked around the room. Sara was there, her parents, Felicity and Donna were together, Ted and Alan, Sandra and Connor, William and Samantha, and Thea, Roy, Emiko, and Robbie were in the middle.

“What sort of party is this?” Laurel asked.

“We haven’t told them yet,” Emiko said. “But we already had a saving the world party.”

Laurel and Ollie looked at each other.

“So, it’s an engagement party then,” Ollie said, turning back to everyone.

“Engagement?” Laurel’s dad asked.

“Ollie and I are getting married,” Laurel said.

“Congratulations,” Ted said. Laurel’s mother rushed over to hug her and Ollie.

“You finally plucked up enough courage?” Sandra asked.

“Nah,” Ollie said. “Laurel asked me.”

“That’s my girl,” Laurel’s mother said.


	29. Day 19: Trope Prompt- Mythology

“B,” Robin said. “There’s a dragon.”

“There’s a what?” Batman asked.

“Big and green with scales and wings and breathing fire,” Robin said.

“I saw it too,” Batgirl said. “It’s flying over the harbour.”

Batman sighed.

“Where’s Constantine?”

Flamebird landed next to Batman.

“Last I heard he was in New Orleans, Zatanna said he was considering settling down.”

“Constantine?”

“She said he’s met a guy. And Zatanna and Zed are both in Star with Raven.”

“There’s still a dragon,” Robin said.

* * *

Robin and Batgirl were right. There was a dragon in Gotham harbour.

There were also two people fighting it, one with a sword and shield, and one controlling the water in the harbour, while two teenagers cheered them on.

“Stay here,” Flamebird said, and she swung down to help. Batman jumped after her, though what they were supposed to do about a dragon, he had no idea.

The two women didn’t seem to need any help either. The dragon took off and disappeared into the night sky.

Robin and Batgirl both landed next to Batman.

“Flamebird told you to stay put.”

“But there was a dragon,” Robin said. “Hi!”

“Hello, child,” sword woman said. Batman put his hand on Robin’s shoulder, and she sheathed the sword.

“That was really cool,” Batgirl said. “Are you from Central City?”

“I am Princess Diana of Themyscira. This is my friend, Queen Mera of Atlantis, my sister, Princess Donna Troy, and Queen Mera’s charge, Prince Garth of Shayeris.”

“I’m Robin of the Bat-Family?” Robin looked up at Batman, and he nodded. If that was the name Robin wanted to give them. “This is Batgirl, that’s Flamebird, and this is Batman.”

“I see why you call yourselves the Bat-Family,” Queen Mera said.

“Atlantis and Themyscira,” Flamebird said. “They’re real places.”

“There was a dragon,” Batgirl said. “And you know magic people and time travellers.”

“Time travellers?” Princess Donna asked.

“You must be part of this Justice League my husband told me about,” Queen Mera said.

“You know what,” Flamebird said. “I know somewhere we can talk.”

* * *

“Hi,” Robin said to Donna and Garth. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Donna said. “Your family seems nice.”

“So does your sister.”

“Why are we the Bat-Family?” Batgirl asked.

“Because Batwoman came first,” Robin said. “And Bat-Girl, Flamebird used to be Bat-Girl when she was younger, and there’s Batman. He was Robin before me.”

“What’s a bat?” Garth whispered to Donna.

“It’s a flying mammal. A robin is a type of bird.”

“They fly too,” Batgirl said. “And a canary is a bird, and Black Canary helped inspire everyone.”

“There’s a story,” Robin said. “A told Batman when he was young, after his parents died, and he told me after my parents died and I went to live with him. Sometimes robins are people you’ve lost coming to check up on you.”

“Robin,” Batman said. “It’s late, and you have school tomorrow.”

“But-”

“Flamebird is still talking to Diana and Mera, I’m sure you’ll see Donna and Garth again soon. You too, Batgirl.”

“Bye,” Robin said. Donna and Garth waved. “Will we see them soon?”

“Probably,” Batman said. “Flamebird is planning on introducing them to Black Canary.”

“Cool,” Robin said.


	30. Day 30: Word Prompt- Pining

Cisco stared up at the ceiling in the _Waverider. _Lily had shown him to the spare bunk next to hers, and Cisco could feel the vibrations of the ship’s engine under him. It was almost a comfort; they were outside the time stream and Cisco hadn’t realised just how prominent the vibrations of the universe had been. He hadn’t vibed once since he’d stepped on board, not even when Eddie had given him an old shirt of Malcolm’s and asked him to try.

The Legends knew what Eobard wanted. Cisco still wasn’t really following. All he knew was that they’d picked him up because Malcolm was alive and working with what they’d dubbed as the Legion of Doom- Malcolm Merlyn, Damien Darhk, and Eobard Thawne.

Wells’ real name was Eobard Thawne, and he’d murdered Nora Allen. This whole time they’d been working with the villain. That was the real reason Barry and Malcolm had been so against S.T.A.R. Labs.

And Eddie was sure Malcolm wouldn’t be working with Eobard if he’d had a choice. Cisco didn’t know him that well, but he knew Barry, and they could agree on that much. Eobard was holding something over Malcolm’s head. Given he wanted to change reality, probably something like bringing his mother back. Eddie had said the whole reason they’d signed up was to see if they could save her.

They’d tried, he’d said. Tried and failed and met another Barry.

Cisco still didn’t know where his Barry was. Not that he was Cisco’s Barry. But wouldn’t that be nice.

“Hey, Gideon?” Cisco asked.

“Yes, Mister Ramon?”

“Do you know anything about Eobard Thawne?”

“Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash. Born 2451 to Theophania and Edmund Thawne, younger brother Robern Thawne, erased from existence by Eobard. Enemy of the second Flash.”

“The second Flash? You mean Barry?”

“My protocols forbid me from revealing the identity of any members of the Flash Family to anyone other than registered users. I have several thousand entries regarding Eobard Thawne, which would you like to view?”

“Is Captain Coburn a registered user?”

“Only members of the Flash Family are registered users.”

“The Time Masters didn’t create you, did they?”

“No, I was created by the second Flash with the aims of helping the original Impulse adjust to the twenty-first century, and to aid other members of the Flash Family when my creator could not. I was stolen from the Flash Museum in the 30th century by Eobard Thawne before he changed the timeline, and later recovered by the Time Masters for their own uses.”

“Was there a Cobalt Blue in the original timeline?”

“Cobalt Blue, raised Malcolm Thawne by Hugo and Charlene Thawne. Born 14th March 1989.”

“What’s his connection to Eobard Thawne?”

“Eobard Thawne is the descendant of Malcolm Thawne.”

“Paradox,” Cisco said. “Hang on.”

He rushed out the room and knocked on Lily’s door. She rubbed her eyes as she opened it.

“He’s a paradox,” Cisco said. “If Malcolm dies, Eobard is erased from existence, right?”

“Correct, Mister Ramon,” Gideon said.

“And he changed the timeline,” Cisco said. “Which is why he stuck around.”

“Eobard Thawne became unstable due to his changes to the timestream,” Gideon said. “He was unable to return to his own time.”

“Which is why he’s looking for a way to change reality,” Lily said. “And why he needs help. He’s a paradox.”

“And it’s why he had to save Malcolm,” Cisco said. “Malcolm’s his ancestor.”

“That still doesn’t explain why he’d work with him. They tried to save Malcolm’s mother before, it doesn’t make sense.”

“If Eobard Thawne corrects the timeline, then Nora Allen lives.”

“Jax met the Barry from that timeline when Malcolm and Eddie went to try and save her. He didn’t even know he had a brother.”

“But it saves Nora, Henry, and Barry, Malcolm worked with the Santinis to try and save Barry before, if he thought he could save all three of them-”

“Or just one of them,” Lily said. “You said Barry went missing right before Doctor Wells. And Gideon’s just said he couldn’t time travel, so he’d need another way to get to the Vanishing Point in time. Another speedster.”

“Oh,” Cisco said. “That could explain why I haven’t been able to vibe him. If he’s not in the right point in the timestream.”

“That makes sense. You know everyone’s going to notice your pining once you’re in the same room.”

“Lily, I-”

“I know. Bad timing. He’s a criminal, you’re a superhero. Time’s been changed and we’re going to have to decide what to do about that. But I’m just saying, people are going to notice. We should get some sleep, run this by everyone in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Cisco said. “We can deal with everything in the morning.”


	31. Day 31: Setting Prompt- There Was Only One Bed

Barry still looked nervous. Cisco couldn't blame him; he'd been through a lot. And not just in the past few months either. He was probably expecting Eobard to run through the door.

A night on the _Waverider_ would be fine. Cisco would have to go back to Central City and probably sooner rather than later, but Wally and Hartley could handle it for another day. Barry would be fine. He had Malcolm and Eddie.

Sara had offered the spare room again, but they only had the one. Still, she’d brought some blankets and clothes Gideon had fabricated.

There was one issue though.

"I'll get them to drop me off in Central," Cisco said, looking at the one bed.

"Please don't go." Barry clung onto Cisco's hand, then shot away again. "I- I can go stay with Mal, he won't mind. He probably wants me to. You can have it."

"It's fine," Cisco said. "You take the bed; I'll take the floor."

"You can have the bed. I'm used to sleeping on the floor."

"Gideon can fabricate me a mattress probably," Cisco said. "Please take the bed, Barry."

Barry nodded.

* * *

Carrying a mattress through the ship seemed like it would be difficult, and Cisco wasn't sure about breaches while they were floating in the time stream, so he'd just laid out some blankets. It was fine.

He'd waited for Barry to start breathing softly before trying to get to sleep himself. He was glad of that he had when he heard Barry's tiny whimper.

Lightning was flickering up and down his arms.

"Please," Barry whispered.

"Hey," Cisco said. He put his hand on Barry's shoulder and Barry jolted awake. "I'm sorry. Do you need something? I can go get-”

“Please don’t go,” Barry whispered. His eyes darted to the door. “Don’t go.”

“I won’t,” Cisco said. Barry inched back the covers and shuffled over.

“Could- Could you-”

Cisco nodded and climbed into the bed. It was big enough for two. That wasn’t an issue.

* * *

He woke up tangled in blankets and limbs. Barry looked peaceful now, breathing softly.

Eddie had told him about the other Barry they’d met, the one who’d been erased after Eobard’s interference with the timeline. The one who’d been a superhero, who’d been married to Iris, who was an expectant father who’d never get to meet his child. Children, according to Gideon. Eobard had taken all that from Barry. Maybe it would have been easier if he’d met that Barry.

But he hadn’t. He’d met the Barry who’d spent his life running away, but who also loved to run. Perhaps he hadn’t been happy about the theft- Cisco liked to think he hadn’t, that it had just been because he’d felt he had no other choice- but Cisco couldn’t deny he’d felt the joy radiate off Barry at their games of cat and mouse. He’d met the flirty Barry who’d refused to tell Cisco his name at first, who loved his brother and his cousin, the Barry who-

The Barry who currently had his eyes open and was looking straight at Cisco.

They each scrambled to opposite sides of the bed.

“I’m sorry,” Barry said.

“It’s fine,” Cisco said. “I should have realised you offering to find Malcolm was more than finding a solution to the one bed problem. Do you want me to go and find him now?”

“No. I’ll find him later. You saved me again. Why do you keep doing that?”

“I’m a superhero. It’s what I do.”

“But you’re the hero of Central City. The Legends protect the timeline. Mal told me about them. He told me everything.”

“So, he told you exactly what Eobard changed.”

“I already knew that.”

“What?”

“Nobody was ever going to believe me; Eobard never kept these things secrets from me. I knew he’s Mal’s descendant, I knew I wasn’t supposed to grow up with a brother and Mal was always supposed to be a Thawne and he’d hate me, I knew he’d been there for me that night and if it hadn’t been for my future self he would have succeeded, but then he’d found out he needed me. I know everything that happened was my fau-”

“It was him, not you. You didn’t tell anyone?”

“I didn’t want to make Mal upset. It was my fault he lost everything, and if he knew Eobard was his-”

“Barry, it was not your fault. You could have told someone else.”

“Who? Everyone ignored what I saw because it sounded impossible, and they sent my dad to prison. I wasn’t allowed to see my dad. I wasn’t allowed to see Joe either. If I told Eddie, Mal might have found out.”

“You could have told me. I know it would have come way too late, but you could have told me.”

“Eobard was pretending to help you. And he was pretending to be in a wheelchair.”

“Nobody’s believed you for a long time, have they?”

“No.”

“That’s different now. The world is different now, and I believe you.”

“You’re different,” Barry shrugged. “You’re special.”

Cisco sighed. Barry seemed so sincere when he said that. And there they were, lying in the same bed, having woken up entwined. Hartley would have several things to say about that.

“Cisco?” Barry asked. “Are you cross I didn’t tell you?”

“No,” Cisco said. “I get it. I’m just thinking.”

“I’m going to have to go back to Iron Heights.”

“No, you’re staying with me.”

“You don’t have to keep protecting me. The warden’s not going to be able to do the same thing twi-”

“The warden was involved?” Cisco said. “Okay, I was just being selfish, but now you’re definitely not going back, ever.”

“What do you mean, selfish?”

“I know you don’t mean any of the flirting-”

“Why would I flirt if I didn’t mean it? Does everyone flirt with you?”

“There actually are quite a few, you’d be surprised. Golden Glider does a lot. She kissed me once.” Cisco frowned. “Are you vibrating?”

“I do that,” Barry scowled.

“Are you _jealous_?”

“No,” he grumbled. “Why would I be jealous an extremely attractive lady kissed you? I hope she makes you happy.”

“Barry, I do not have feelings for Lisa Snart,” Cisco said. “Why’d you think I visited you all those times?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re supposed to be the brother of my nemesis. Not that Malcolm is very nemesis like anymore.”

“Which means you want me to stop the flirting, so you and Li-”

“For goodness sake.” Cisco leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I thought you were the smart one.”

“Oh,” Barry said. He was approximately as red as his suit. “What?”

“I’m probably not supposed to like you,” Cisco said. “But I do. If you could stop the crime, that would make everything a lot easier.”

“You want me to be a superhero?” Barry nodded. “I suppose if Mal and Eddie can, I can too. And if I become a superhero, I get to keep flirting with you?”

“If you become a superhero, I’ll take you on a date,” Cisco said. Barry’s eyes widened. “I’ll do that anyway, but this way I’ll get fewer disapproving looks.”

“I don’t have any nice clothes.”

“First, we have to figure out how we’re going to explain you disappearing from Iron Heights, and how we’re going to win your dad’s appeal. Linda and Ralph have been working on it, I’ll introduce you, but he was good at covering his tracks.”

“Eobard has a room in Star Labs called the Time Vault,” Barry said. “I haven’t been there since I was fifteen, but if there’s something, it’s probably in there. You really think this will work?”

“I hope so. We do have other issues at home. There’s a guy named DeVoe, and Wally’s got speed too now, he’s been fighting a guy called Zoom. We could use another hand.”

“I can do that. And I get to go on a date with you.”

“We can see how it goes.”

“I really hope it goes well.”


End file.
